GENERAL PHYSICS I (PHYS
1401) CONSERVATION OF
ENERGY LAB REPORT
SUMMER SERIES LATES
UPDATED UNIVERSITY OF
TEXAS
, 1Conservation of Energy – Background and Theory
Objective
In this laboratory activity, students will observe the transfer and conservation of energy in a simple
pendulum system. Students will observe conservation of energy in a system in cases with and without
friction to see how total system energy can be conserved, even when mechanical energy is not.
Theory
Kinetic and Potential Energy
In this experiment, we will be considering two forms of mechanical energy. The first is Kinetic Energy
(represented here as KE). Any object that is in motion has kinetic energy that can be calculated by
Equation 1 below:
1 2
KE= m v (Eq. 1)
2
Where m is the mass of the object and v is the velocity. Notice that since velocity is squared (v2), there
is no distinction between opposite directions of velocity. In addition, another form of energy that we
will observe is gravitational potential energy (represented here as PE). This is a representation of the
amount of work that gravity can perform (and thus transfer energy) on an object, it is given by:
PE=mgh (Eq. 2)
Where m is the mass of the object, g is the acceleration
due to gravity (~9.8 m/s2) and h is the height of the
object above some point. For simplicity, it is best to use
h as the height above the lowest point that an object can
reach, as we will in this experiment. In a pendulum
system, the potential energy can be calculated using the
angle and length of the pendulum:
h = L (1 – cos θ) (Eq. 3)
where L is the length of the pendulum and θ is the angle,
as shown in Figure 1. Figure - Pendulum with height measured as
the vertical distance from its lowest point Commented [S1]:
1401) CONSERVATION OF
ENERGY LAB REPORT
SUMMER SERIES LATES
UPDATED UNIVERSITY OF
TEXAS
, 1Conservation of Energy – Background and Theory
Objective
In this laboratory activity, students will observe the transfer and conservation of energy in a simple
pendulum system. Students will observe conservation of energy in a system in cases with and without
friction to see how total system energy can be conserved, even when mechanical energy is not.
Theory
Kinetic and Potential Energy
In this experiment, we will be considering two forms of mechanical energy. The first is Kinetic Energy
(represented here as KE). Any object that is in motion has kinetic energy that can be calculated by
Equation 1 below:
1 2
KE= m v (Eq. 1)
2
Where m is the mass of the object and v is the velocity. Notice that since velocity is squared (v2), there
is no distinction between opposite directions of velocity. In addition, another form of energy that we
will observe is gravitational potential energy (represented here as PE). This is a representation of the
amount of work that gravity can perform (and thus transfer energy) on an object, it is given by:
PE=mgh (Eq. 2)
Where m is the mass of the object, g is the acceleration
due to gravity (~9.8 m/s2) and h is the height of the
object above some point. For simplicity, it is best to use
h as the height above the lowest point that an object can
reach, as we will in this experiment. In a pendulum
system, the potential energy can be calculated using the
angle and length of the pendulum:
h = L (1 – cos θ) (Eq. 3)
where L is the length of the pendulum and θ is the angle,
as shown in Figure 1. Figure - Pendulum with height measured as
the vertical distance from its lowest point Commented [S1]:
