Recall that work is the amount of energy transferred to an object when it experiences a displacement and is acted upon by an external force. It is given a symbol of W and is measured in joules (J).
W=\vec{F}\cdot \Delta \vec{d}
We can use this formula to determine the work done by very specific forces, generating specific types of energy. We will examine three types of energy in this activity: gravitational potential, kinetic, and thermal. Before we start deriving equations for gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy, we should note that since work is the transfer and/or transformation of energy, we can also write its symbol as \Delta E.