Question

Imagine a ball on a track where no energy is transferred between the ball and the track or between the ball and the air around it. The ball starts at Position 1 and goes down and up a dip on the track and past Position 2. Position 1 and Position 2 are at the same height.

Will the total amount of energy the ball has at Position 2 be more, less, or the same as the total amount of energy the ball has at Position 1 and why? (Remember that no energy is transferred between the ball and the track or between the ball and the air around it.)

Answer 1

The total energy of the ball at Position 2 on the track will be the same as at Position 1 due to the law of conservation of energy, as no energy is lost to the track or the air in this closed system.

Step-by-step explanation:

When considering a ball moving from Position 1 to Position 2 on a track with no energy transfer to the surroundings, the total amount of energy at Position 2 will be the same as at Position 1. This is due to the law of conservation of energy, which states that within a closed system, the total energy remains constant if there is no energy added or lost to the environment. Since the ball and track system is described as having no energy transfer either through friction or air resistance, the ball will have the same mechanical energy (the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy) at both positions provided they are at the same height.

At Position 1, the ball's mechanical energy is primarily in the form of potential energy, as it is at rest at a certain height. As it moves down and then up the dip, potential energy converts into kinetic energy and then back into potential energy. By the time the ball reaches Position 2, if there has been no loss of energy, it will have the same mechanical energy as it did at Position 1, with potential energy being the dominant form again since it is at the same height from where it started.