Question

Roller coaster cars move slowly at the top of the hill, so they have little kinetic energy. The speed of the cars increases as they move down the hill. This increased the cars' kinetic energy. Where might this extra kinetic energy have come from?

a.) kinetic energy was added by pushing the cars
b.) potential energy was transformed into kinetic energy
c.) the cars always had kinetic energy
d.) kinetic energy was transferred into potential energy

Answer 1

b.) potential energy was transformed into kinetic energy

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the law of conservation of energy, energy is neither created nor destroyed but transformed from one form to another in a system.

So, in this system, energy is not created neither is it destroyed.

• The increase in kinetic energy of the car is due to the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy.
• Potential energy is due to the position of a body. As the car winds down the hill slope, the potential energy is transformed to kinetic energy.
• Also, the velocity of the body increases.