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Questions and Answers
A student is designing a theme park ride that involves a cart traveling up a ramp and then down the other side. To maximize the cart's kinetic energy at the bottom of the ride, which strategy would be most effective, assuming negligible friction and air resistance?
A student is designing a theme park ride that involves a cart traveling up a ramp and then down the other side. To maximize the cart's kinetic energy at the bottom of the ride, which strategy would be most effective, assuming negligible friction and air resistance?
- Increase the height of the ramp, which will increase the gravitational potential energy at the start, leading to greater kinetic energy at the bottom. (correct)
- Increase the mass of the cart while keeping the height of the ramp constant, as this will increase the gravitational potential energy at the start.
- Decrease the angle of the ramp while maintaining the same height, allowing for a longer path and gradual energy transfer.
- Use a cart with lower mass, because less energy will be required to accelerate it to a high speed.
Flashcards
Potential Difference (Voltage)
Potential Difference (Voltage)
Energy is transferred by voltage inducing current flow between two points. Energy is 'given-out' by the material, decreasing its internal energy, like infrared radiation emitted from the Sun.
Study Notes
- Energy exists in different 'stores' and cannot be created or destroyed.
- Energy can be transferred, dissipated, or stored in various ways.
- Energy can remain in the same store for varying durations, from fractions of a second to millions of years.
- Energy transfers occur continuously whenever a system undergoes changes.
- System changes lead to alterations in the way energy is stored.
Examples of Energy Transfers
- A boat moving through water converts chemical energy into kinetic energy.
- Boiling water in an electric kettle involves electrical energy increasing the internal energy of the element, which in turn elevates the internal (thermal) energy and temperature of the water.
- A swinging pirate ship ride demonstrates the transfer of kinetic energy into gravitational potential energy.
Types of Energy Transfer
- Energy is transferred through heating.
- Energy is transferred via waves.
- Energy is transferred by electric current.
- Energy is transferred when a force moves an object.
Potential Difference
- Potential difference (or voltage) measures the energy given to charge carriers in a circuit, measured in volts (V).
- Voltage between two points enables electric current flow.
- Energy is 'given out' by a material as its internal energy decreases.
- Infrared radiation from the Sun is emitted into space.
- 'Work' signifies energy transfer, exemplified by a grazing cow, a firing catapult, and a boiling kettle.
Diagrams for Energy Transfer
- Transfer diagrams illustrate energy stores in boxes and energy transfers via arrows.
- A child at the top of a slide has gravitational energy which converts to mechanical work to speed up and work against friction, causing a shift from gravitational potential energy to kinetic and internal energy.
- Sankey diagrams show energy transfer into different stores, with arrow widths scaled to represent the amount of energy.
- Useful when the quantity of energy in each source is known.
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