As a roller coaster carriage speeds down a slope, it loses gravitational potential energy.Explain why this does not violate the law of conservation of energy.
Question
As a roller coaster carriage speeds down a slope, it loses gravitational potential energy.Explain why this does not violate the law of conservation of energy.
Solution
The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed from one form to another.
-
When a roller coaster is at the top of a slope, it has a large amount of gravitational potential energy due to its high position. This is because gravitational potential energy is calculated by the formula: mass x gravity x height. So, the higher the roller coaster, the more gravitational potential energy it has.
-
As the roller coaster carriage speeds down the slope, it begins to lose this gravitational potential energy. This is because the height in the formula decreases, thus decreasing the overall gravitational potential energy.
-
However, this does not violate the law of conservation of energy because as the roller coaster loses gravitational potential energy, it gains kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion, and as the roller coaster speeds up, its kinetic energy increases.
-
Therefore, the total energy of the system (the roller coaster) remains constant, it's just that the energy has been transferred from gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy. This is in line with the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed.
-
In conclusion, as the roller coaster carriage speeds down a slope and loses gravitational potential energy, it does not violate the law of conservation of energy because this energy is not destroyed, but rather transformed into kinetic energy.
Similar Questions
Question 9Summarise the law of conservation of energy in your own words.Question 10Suppose that the carriage's actual speed at point D was 15 m/s (or 54 km/h).Calculate its kinetic energy in joules.Calculate the percentage of its starting energy that has been converted into thermal and sound energy.Question 11 Key QuestionAs a roller coaster carriage speeds down a slope, it loses gravitational potential energy.Explain why this does not violate the law of conservation of energy.
The diagram shows the potential energy and kinetic energy of a roller coaster cart at a point located at the top of a large hill. If the cart is initially stationary it will have zero kinetic energy. Based on the height of the first hill the cart has 520 kiloJoules of potential energy.The point marked X represents the bottom of the hill where the cart's potential energy is equal to 0 Joules, but the kinetic energy is 480 kiloJoules.Based on the Law of Conservation of Energy which explanation provides support for what MOST LIKELY occurred?A 60 kiloJoules of kinetic energy were gained due to gravitational acceleration.B 40 KiloJoules of heat energy were released to the surroundings due to friction.C 420 KiloJoules of potential energy were transferred to heat energy.D 40 KiloJoules of chemical energy from fuel were released as heat energy.
On a roller coaster, energy is transferred between GPE and KE stores of energy.Have a think about the energy stores of the car as it travels down.What is happening to its speed?The speed remains constant.The speed is decreasing.The speed is increasing.
A child on a swing is not being pushed and is not pumping her legs and arms. As a result, the swing slows down and eventually stops. How can this be explained using the concept of the law of conservation of energy?Multiple choice question.Mechanical energy is only conserved for small increments of time.The total mechanical energy of the system is constant.Mechanical energy is only conserved when gravity is not acting on the system.Mechanical energy is being converted to other forms of energy.
Select all of the options that best complete the following sentence. As a roller coaster carriage descends the first hill:its potential energy is transformed into kinetic energyits kinetic energy increases with its speedthe main force acting on it is gravityits potential energy increasesI'm not sure
Upgrade your grade with Knowee
Get personalized homework help. Review tough concepts in more detail, or go deeper into your topic by exploring other relevant questions.