Question
The law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant. A system is an organized group of related objects or components.
The earth and a ball on a ramp is one example of a system. There is a certain amount of potential energy stored in the system when the ball is at the top of the ramp. As the ball rolls down the ramp, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy is converted back into potential energy as it rolls up the opposite side of the ramp. In an ideal system, without friction or air resistance, the ball would roll to a height equal to the height it started. If there was no ramp opposite the first ramp, the ball would continue rolling at a constant speed forever (until a force acted on it).
Simplify this so a 7th grader can understand this
The earth and a ball on a ramp is one example of a system. There is a certain amount of potential energy stored in the system when the ball is at the top of the ramp. As the ball rolls down the ramp, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy is converted back into potential energy as it rolls up the opposite side of the ramp. In an ideal system, without friction or air resistance, the ball would roll to a height equal to the height it started. If there was no ramp opposite the first ramp, the ball would continue rolling at a constant speed forever (until a force acted on it).
Simplify this so a 7th grader can understand this
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The law of conservation of energy says that energy can't be created or destroyed; it just changes forms.
Think about a ball on a ramp. When the ball is at the top of the ramp, it has potential energy, which is energy stored because of its height. When the ball rolls down the ramp, that potential energy changes into kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion.
As the ball goes back up the other side of the ramp, it turns that kinetic energy back into potential energy. In a perfect world, without things like friction or air pushing against it, the ball would reach the same height on the other side as it started from.
If there wasn’t another ramp for the ball to roll up, it would keep rolling forever at the same speed unless something stops it, like a bump or friction.
Think about a ball on a ramp. When the ball is at the top of the ramp, it has potential energy, which is energy stored because of its height. When the ball rolls down the ramp, that potential energy changes into kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion.
As the ball goes back up the other side of the ramp, it turns that kinetic energy back into potential energy. In a perfect world, without things like friction or air pushing against it, the ball would reach the same height on the other side as it started from.
If there wasn’t another ramp for the ball to roll up, it would keep rolling forever at the same speed unless something stops it, like a bump or friction.