Work Energy Lab
a. What assumptions have been made in performing law of conversation of energy and analyzing the results?
b. Which forces are directly responsible for generating ÄQ?
c. How much work do these forces collectively (as opposed to individually) do?
d. Did your values for ÄQ remain roughly the same from trial to trial or was there a significant change? Briefly hypothesize why ÄQ behaved this way.
a. The assumptions made in performing the law of conservation of energy and analyzing the results include:
1. No external forces: The analysis assumes that there are no external forces acting on the system, meaning that all the energy transfers and transformations occur within the system itself.
2. No energy loss: It assumes that there are no energy losses due to factors like friction, air resistance, or other dissipative forces. This assumption allows for a more idealized analysis, where all the initial energy is accounted for and the final energy should theoretically be equal to the initial energy.
3. Conservation of mechanical energy: The law assumes that only mechanical energy (kinetic and potential energy) is involved in the energy transfers and transformations, neglecting other forms of energy such as thermal or chemical energy.
b. The forces directly responsible for generating ΔQ (change in mechanical energy) depend on the specific system being analyzed. These forces include:
1. Gravity: If the system involves objects that can be raised or lowered, gravity plays a significant role in generating ΔQ. When lifting an object against gravity, work is done on the object, increasing its potential energy.
2. Applied forces: If external forces are applied to the system, such as pushing or pulling an object, they contribute to generating ΔQ. The work done by these applied forces can either increase or decrease the kinetic energy of the system.
c. The total work done by these forces collectively (as opposed to individually) is equal to the overall change in mechanical energy (ΔQ) of the system. This can be calculated by summing up the work done by each force individually.
d. Values for ΔQ may or may not remain roughly the same from trial to trial, depending on various factors:
1. Energy losses: If there are factors like friction or air resistance present in the system, they can cause energy losses. In such cases, the values for ΔQ are expected to decrease from trial to trial.
2. Variations in applied forces: If the magnitude or direction of the applied forces varies from trial to trial, it can result in different values of ΔQ. For example, if more force is applied in one trial compared to another, it can lead to a larger change in mechanical energy.
To hypothesize why ΔQ may behave in a certain way, it would be important to analyze specific experimental conditions and factors affecting energy transfers and transformations.