What Goes Up Must Come Down Gravitational Potential
- Slides: 8
What Goes Up Must Come Down! Gravitational Potential Energy
Kinetic vs. Potential Energy Kinetic Energy: Energy of motion Potential Energy Stored energy
What is Gravitational Potential Energy? With a partner discuss what GRAVITATIONAL POTENTIAL ENERGY is. Consider these questions: - How do we gain it? What does it have an effect on? Does it change? Where would we see different GPE? What factors effect an objects GPE?
Demo Time! Scenario 1: Dropping a piece of paper Scenario 2: Dropping same piece of paper under a textbook Discussion: - What has changed? - What has stayed the same? - Why did the “fall time” change from scenario 1 vs. scenario 2? - How have we changed Potential energy and kinetic energy
Scenario 1: Basketball drop - Why does the basketball not return to its original height? - When is there the GREATEST kinetic energy? - When is there the GREATEST potential energy? Scenario 2: Tennis ball drop - When is the LOWEST kinetic energy? - When is the LOWEST potential energy? Scenario 3: Tennis ball on top of basketball - What is happening here? - What would be considered our system? - What has caused the tennis ball to bounce so much higher?
So What Really is GPE? Is the ENERGY an object has due to its position above Earth. This energy is affected by the objects MASS (Kg) and HEIGHT (m).
Equation for Gravitational Potential Energy GPE = MGH M = Mass (Kg) H = Height (m) G = Gravity (9. 8 m/s×s) The units for measuring GPE are Joules (J) unit of energy equal to the energy transferred to, or work done on, an object
Think outside the box! On a separate piece of paper think of your own example of where we would see gravitational potential energy. Your example must answer the following questions: - ALL parts of the system Where is potential and kinetic energy seen? How does mass and height affect the GPE? How would this scenario change with varying (changing) gravity?
