Question

As a child slides down a playground slide, gravitational potential energy decreases while '
transferred to
'due to friction.
increases, and some energy is
= kinetic energy = chemical energy
• sound energy
:: thermal energy

Answer 1

As the child slides down, gravitational potential energy (GPE) is converted into:

- kinetic energy (the child speeds up), and
- some energy is dissipated by friction as thermal energy (the slide, the child’s clothes, and air warm up) and as sound energy (scraping, etc.).

So: GPE → KE + thermal energy + sound energy. Chemical energy is not produced by the sliding (unless the child is actively pushing with muscles, which would involve chemical energy from the body). Total energy is conserved, but mechanical energy is reduced by the amount converted to heat and sound.