Chapter 8: Potential Energy and Conservative Forces Reference Tools & Resources

Reference Tools & Resources

I. Key Terms and Phrases

conservative force: any force for which the work done is independent of path.

nonconservative force: any force that is not a conservative force.

potential energy: a representation of the extent to which work is stored in the configuration of a system.

mechanical energy: the sum of the kinetic and potential energies in a system.

turning point: the position on a potential energy curve at which an object will stop and reverse direction.

equipotential: a region in which every point has an equal value of potential energy.

II. Important Equations

Name/Topic	Equation	Explanation
potential energy	DU = -Wc	The definition of potential energy.
gravitational potential energy	U = mgy	The gravitational potential energy assuming U = 0 at y = 0.
spring potential energy		The spring potential energy assuming U = 0 at x = 0.
mechanical energy	E = K + U	The definition of the mechanical energy.
work by nonconservative forces	Wnc = DE	The work done by nonconservative forces changes the mechanical energy.

III. Know Your Units

Quantity	Dimension	SI Unit
potential energy		J

Reference Tools and Resources by David Reid, Eastern Michigan University. ©2002 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

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