We started our unit on work and energy! We learned a lot today, mostly centering around the new basic equations and laws on this topic. Work, in a physics sense is any change in energy. You can calculate work by multiplying force and distance. Energy, according to the law of conservation of energy, cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change forms. This means that the sum of the energy in must equal the sum of energy out, for this law to work.
We also talked about two different types of energy, potential (gravitational) energy, and kinetic energy. Potential energy, or PEg is equal to change in energy equals weight, which as we learned earlier is force multiplied by distance, which is like weight (mg) multiplied by distance (height, or h). This energy is shown when dropping or picking up an object from the ground, or from wherever you want to pick to be it's equilibrium point (like desk, chair, floor, etc). In this picture, one of our group members is about to step on a pogo stick. If you picked him up off the ground, you are adding potential energy because he can fall (due to gravity). If you drop him, you are decreasing his potential energy because he falls because of gravity. Kinetic energy, or "KE" is equal to half mass multiplied by velocity squared. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. If an object is moving, it has kinetic energy. If our group member started running down the hallway, he would have kinetic energy.
In this picture, one of our group members is about to step on a pogo stick.
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