Phys101 Lectures 8 and 9

Conservation of Mechanical Energy

Key points:
• Conservative and Nonconservative Forces
• Potential Energy
• Generalized work-energy principle
• Mechanical Energy and Its Conservation

Ref: 6-4,5,6,8,9,10.

Page 1
Conservative and Nonconservative Forces
A force is conservative if:
the work done by the force on an object
moving from one point to another depends
only on the initial and final positions of the
object, and is independent of the particular
path taken.
Example: gravitational force
Another definition of a conservative force:
a force is conservative if the net work done by the force
on an object moving around any closed path is zero.
Conservative and Nonconservative Forces
If friction is present, the work done depends not
only on the starting and ending points, but also
on the path taken. Frictional force is a
nonconservative force.
Conservative and Nonconservative Forces

Potential energy can

be defined for
conservative forces.
Gravitational Potential Energy
In raising a mass m from y1 to y2 by a height h,
the work done by the external force is

The gravitational potential energy is raised by

U G  mg( y2  y1 )  mgh

The work done by the gravitational force

 
WG  mg  d  mg( y2  y1 )  mgh

Therefore,
WG  U G
The work done by the gravitational force is
equal to the loss in potential energy.
 General Definition of Potential Energy

For any conservative force FC

U  WC
i.e., the change in potential energy is equal to the negative work
done by the conservative force.
Or, the work done by the conservative force is equal to the
loss in potential energy. i.e.,
WC  U  ( U final  U initial )

Note: we have defined the change in potential energy U, not the
potential energy itself. That is why we can arbitrary choose the
zero point of potential energy U.

What is potential energy?

It’s a position-determined capability of doing work.
Example: Potential energy changes for a roller coaster.
A 1000-kg roller-coaster car moves from point 1 to point 2 and then to
point 3. (a) What is the gravitational potential energy at points 2 and 3
relative to point 1? That is, take y = 0 at point 1. (b) What is the change in
potential energy when the car goes from point 2 to point 3? (c) Repeat
parts (a) and (b), but take the reference point (y = 0) to be at point 3.
 A spring has potential energy, called
elastic potential energy.
It is convenient to choose x=0 at the
equilibrium position as well as the zero
point of the elastic potential energy.
Then if we stretch the spring by x, the
elastic potential energy is
1 2
U el ( x )  U el ( x )  U el ( 0 )  Wel  kx
2
FSx
x
1
Wel   kx2
2
FSx  kx

When we stretch (or compress) the spring by x, we raise the potential

energy by kx2/2.
 From the Work-Energy Principle to
Conservation of Mechanical Energy
The work-energy principle:

Since there are conservative and nonconservative forces,

Wnet  WC  WN  K
and the conservative work is equal to the loss in potential energy
 U  WN  K
Therefore WN  K  U  E
Generalized work-energy principle: The total nonconservative work done
on a system is equal to the gain in mechanical energy of the system. The
mechanical energy is the sum of the potential energy and kinetic energy,
i.e., E=U+K.

Special case:
when WN=0, E=0, i.e., E=const, or Efinal = Einitial
This is known as the conservation of mechanical energy.
i-clicker question 9-1
The condition for mechanical energy to be conserved is
(A) It’s a closed system.
(B) The net force is zero.
(C) No nonconservative work.
(D) The mechanical energy is never conserved.
(E) The mechanical energy is always conserved.

The principle of conservation of mechanical energy:

If only conservative forces are doing work, the total mechanical
energy of a system neither increases nor decreases in any
process. It stays constant—it is conserved.

How to use it to solve problems:

When ME is conserved, we have an equation E1=E2 , for any two states 1
and 2.
Conservation of Mechanical Energy

In the image on the left,

the total mechanical
energy at any point is:
Example: Roller-coaster car speed using energy conservation.
Assuming the height of the hill is 40 m, and the roller-coaster car
starts from rest at the top, calculate (a) the speed of the roller-
coaster car at the bottom of the hill, and (b) at what height it will
have half this speed. Take y = 0 at the bottom of the hill.
 Conservation of Mechanical Energy
For an elastic force, conservation of energy tells us:

Example: Toy dart gun.

A dart of mass 0.100 kg is pressed
against the spring of a toy dart gun.
The spring (with spring stiffness
constant k = 250 N/m and ignorable
mass) is compressed 6.0 cm and
released. If the dart detaches from
the spring when the spring reaches
its natural length (x = 0), what speed
does the dart acquire?
 Example: Two kinds of potential energy
A ball of mass m = 2.60 kg, starting
from rest, falls a vertical distance h
= 55.0 cm before striking a vertical
coiled spring, which it compresses
an amount Y = 15.0 cm. Determine
the spring stiffness constant of the
spring. Assume the spring has
negligible mass, and ignore air
resistance. Measure all distances
from the point where the ball first
touches the uncompressed spring
(y = 0 at this point).
– why do we choose to do this?
 Example: A swinging pendulum.
This simple pendulum consists of a small bob of mass m suspended by a
massless cord of length l. The bob is released (without a push) at t = 0, where
the cord makes an angle θ = θ0 to the vertical.
y
(a) Describe the motion of the bob in
terms of kinetic energy and potential
energy. Then determine the speed of
the bob (b) as a function of position θ
as it swings back and forth, and (c) at
the lowest point of the swing. (d) Find
the tension in the cord, FT. Ignore
friction and air resistance.
 The Law of Conservation of Energy
Nonconservative, or dissipative, forces:
friction
air resistance
push or pull by a person
motor or rocket propulsion
and more
do not conserve mechanical energy. However, when these forces
are taken into account, the total energy is still conserved:

Compared to the generalized work-energy principle:

WN  K  U  E
Non-conservative work converts mechanical energy to/from other
forms of energy, such as thermal energy (heat) and chemical
energy.
 The Law of Conservation of Energy

The law of conservation of energy is one of

the most important principles in physics.

The total energy is neither increased nor

decreased in any process. Energy can be
transformed from one form to another, and
transferred from one object to another, but
the total amount remains constant.
 Energy Conservation with Dissipative Forces
Example: Friction on the roller-coaster car.
The roller-coaster car shown reaches a vertical height of only 25 m
on the second hill before coming to a momentary stop. It traveled a
total distance of 400 m.
Determine the thermal energy
produced and estimate the average
friction force (assume it is roughly
constant) on the car, whose mass is
1000 kg.
Example: Friction with a spring.
A block of mass m sliding along a
rough horizontal surface is
traveling at a speed v0 when it
strikes a massless spring head-on
and compresses the spring a
maximum distance X. If the spring
has stiffness constant k, determine
the coefficient of kinetic friction
between block and surface.
Note: It’s very difficult to solve this problem using Newton’s law,
because the net force varies with time!
 Power
Power is the rate at which work is done.
Average power:

Instantaneous power:

In the SI system, the units of power are watts:

Power can also be described as the rate at which

energy is transformed:
 Example: Stair-climbing power.
A 60-kg jogger runs up a long flight of
stairs in 4.0 s. The vertical height of
the stairs is 4.5 m. (a) Estimate the
jogger’s power output. (b) How much
energy did this require?

[Solution]
(b) WN = E = Ef - Ei = Uf - Ui, (K=0)

WN = mgy = 60x9.8x4.5 = 2600 (J)

(a) P = W/t = 2600/4 = 650 (W)
 Power

Power is also needed for

acceleration and for moving against
the force of friction.
The power of a force can be written
in terms of the force and the velocity:
Example: Power needs of a car.
Calculate the power required of a 1400-kg car under the following
circumstances: (a) the car climbs a 10°hill (a fairly steep hill) at a
steady 80 km/h. Assume that the average retarding force on the car
is FR = 700 N throughout.