Question

An object falls through the air gaining speed as it falls a student claims that this creates new energy and so it breaks the law of conservation of energy which statement describes why the student is incorrect

Answer 1

The student's claim is incorrect because the law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. As the object falls through the air, its gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Initially, when the object is at a height, it possesses gravitational potential energy due to its position in a gravitational field. As it falls and gains speed, this potential energy decreases while its kinetic energy increases. The total mechanical energy (the sum of potential and kinetic energy) remains constant in the absence of air resistance and other dissipative forces.

Therefore, rather than creating new energy, the falling object is simply transforming its energy from one form (potential) to another (kinetic), in accordance with the law of conservation of energy.