Scribd
Upload
115 views3 pages

Calculating Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy PDF

This document describes an experiment to calculate the potential and kinetic energy of a rolling marble on a paper roller coaster. Students will measure the mass of the marble, height differences between points on the roller coaster, and time for the marble to travel between points. They will use this data to calculate the potential energy at the starting point and kinetic energy gained. By comparing the total energy at the starting and ending points, students can determine if energy was conserved during the marble's motion down the roller coaster, taking into account any energy transformations.

Uploaded by

1-5 IX Gimnazija
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
115 views3 pages

Calculating Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy PDF

This document describes an experiment to calculate the potential and kinetic energy of a rolling marble on a paper roller coaster. Students will measure the mass of the marble, height differences between points on the roller coaster, and time for the marble to travel between points. They will use this data to calculate the potential energy at the starting point and kinetic energy gained. By comparing the total energy at the starting and ending points, students can determine if energy was conserved during the marble's motion down the roller coaster, taking into account any energy transformations.

Uploaded by

1-5 IX Gimnazija
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Name ______________________

Calculating Potential Energy and


Kinetic Energy of a Rolling Marble
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy potential energy stored in the marble decreases while its
can be neither created nor destroyed. However, energy kinetic energy increases. Potential energy is also
can change from one form to another. In the case of a converted into heat energy due to friction. In this
marble on a paper roller coaster, a marble starts at the experiment, you will be calculating the change in
top of the roller coaster with a relatively large amount of potential energy of a marble traveling between two
potential energy and no kinetic energy. As the marble points on a paper roller coaster and compare that to the
starts rolling down the roller coaster, the amount of kinetic energy that was gained by the marble during that
same time.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
• Completed roller coaster
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scale
• Calculator
• Stopwatch device

PROCEDURE
I. Selecting the starting and ending points
1. Choose a portion of the roller coaster in which the marble accelerates and then keeps a fairly constant
speed.
2. Label the beginning of the hill “1”, the end of the hill “2”, and the end of the final section “3”. You will be
measuring the distance between each of these points so make sure that those distances will be easy to
measure.

An example of how to label the paper roller coaster. Please note that for this activity, you will select one
section of your roller coaster to label, rather than the whole roller coaster from beginning to end.
II. Calculating the gravitational potential energy of the marble
1. To simplify calculations, treat the height of point 2 as the reference point where
gravitational potential energy equals zero.
2. The gravitational potential energy of the marble depends on the height of the starting
point compared to the ending point of the marble’s path.
3. Gravitational potential energy equals (mass)*(acceleration due to gravity)*(height). This
can be written as P.E.= mgh.
4. Measure the mass of the marble. Convert the mass of the marble to kilograms. Enter
your result below.
5. Find point A’s height above point B in centimeters and then convert to meters. Enter the
data in the table below.

Mass of the marble, m (kg) ______ grams ______ kg

Acceleration due to gravity, g (m/s2) 9.8 m/s2 9.8 m/s2

Height of point 1 above point 2, h (m) ______ cm ______ meters

Gravitational potential energy at point 1, mgh, (J) ______ Kg* m/s2

III. Calculating the kinetic energy of the marble


1. The total kinetic energy of the marble is made of two parts, the kinetic energy due to its
linear motion and the kinetic energy due to its rotation.
2. A marble that is rolling has more kinetic energy than a marble that is sliding along at
the same speed.
3. For this activity, you will calculate just the linear kinetic energy.
4. The marble’s kinetic energy due to its linear motion is one half its mass times its
velocity squared. It can be written as K.E.l= 1/2mv2.
5. Use the mass of the marble calculated in section II.
6. Find the velocity of the marble between points 2 and 3. Use a stopwatch (device) to
determine how long it takes to get from point 2 to point 3 after you release the marble
at point 1. Divide the distance between points 2 and 3 by the time elapsed to
calculate the velocity. Conduct three trials to determine the average velocity between
points 2 and 3.
7. Calculate the average linear kinetic energy of the marble.
Distance Distance Time(s) Time(s) Time(s) Average Average Velocity
(cm) (meters) Trial 2 Time(s) (meters/second)
Trial 1 Trial 3

Point
2 to
Point
3

Average Velocity
(meters/second)

Mass (Kg)
Linear Kinetic
Energy (Joules)
K.E. = 1/2mv2

IV. Analysis

1. What is the total mechanical energy of the marble at point 1, before the marble starts to
roll?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What is the total mechanical energy of the marble at point 3?


_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. Compare your answers to questions 1 and 2. Should these answers be the same? Why or
why not? (Hint: think about the Law of Conservation of energy and energy
transformations.)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy