AP Physics 1 Set 5

energy

difficult to define. Something stored in a system as a result of different kinds of forces. Can change as a result of the speed of an object, the gravitational force, the compression or expansion of springs, and heat loss

work

application of force over a distance and the resulting change in energy of the system that the force acted on give rise to the concept of work.. Example: push a crate across a floor

kinetic energy

the energy an object possesses by virtue of its motion and is defined as 1/2mv²

work-energy theorem

states that a system gains or loses kinetic energy by transferring it through work between the environment (forces being introduced into the system) and the system

potential energy

energy an object or system has by virtue of its position or configuration. It is always created by conservative forces

gravitational potential energy

the energy stored by virtue of an object’s position in a gravitational field

conservative force

the work done by the force only depends on the objects initial and final position, not the path the object travels. These forces cannot change the total mechanical energy. Examples include force of gravity, spring force, and electric force

nonconservative force

the work done by the force depends on the path the object takes. These forces can transfer the mechanical energy in or out of the system by doing positive or negative work, respectively. Examples include friction, tension, the normal force, and any applied forces

total mechanical energy

sun of an object’s kinetic and potential energies is called its total mechanical energy, E

law of conservation of total energy

states that the change of total mechanical energy of a system is equal to the work done by nonconservative forces on that system

power

the rate at which work gets done. In other words, it is the rate at which energy is transferred into, out of, or within a system

watt (W)

the unit of power is the joule per second (J/s) is renamed by this