Energy Puzzles
Energy Puzzles
Test your knowledge of energy concepts, conservation laws, and pendulum behavior with these interactive puzzles!
Puzzle 1: What happens to the potential energy of an object as it falls freely under gravity?
Hint: Think about the relationship between height and potential energy.
Answer: The potential energy decreases as the object loses height.
Puzzle 2: What happens to the kinetic energy of a freely falling object?
Hint: Consider how velocity changes during free fall.
Answer: The kinetic energy increases as the velocity of the object increases during free fall.
Puzzle 3: State the law of conservation of energy.
Hint: Energy cannot be created or destroyed...
Answer: The total energy of an isolated system remains constant, though energy can transform from one form to another.
Puzzle 4: At what point does a pendulum have maximum kinetic energy?
Hint: Think about the pendulum's motion and its speed.
Answer: The pendulum has maximum kinetic energy at the lowest point of its swing, where its speed is greatest.
Puzzle 5: Write the formula for the potential energy of an object.
Hint: It's proportional to mass, height, and gravity.
Answer: The formula for potential energy is PE = mgh, where m is mass, g is gravitational acceleration, and h is height.
Puzzle 6: Write the formula for the period of a simple pendulum.
Hint: It depends on the length and acceleration due to gravity.
Answer: The period of a simple pendulum is T = 2Ï€ √L/g , where L is the length of the pendulum and g is the acceleration due to gravity.
Puzzle 7: What is the total mechanical energy of a pendulum in motion?
Hint: Consider the sum of potential and kinetic energy.
Answer: The total mechanical energy of a pendulum is constant and is equal to the sum of its potential energy and kinetic energy at any point.
Puzzle 8: What happens to the potential energy of a pendulum at its highest point?
Hint: The pendulum momentarily stops moving at the highest point.
Answer: The potential energy of the pendulum is maximum at its highest point because all the energy is stored as potential energy.
Puzzle 9: What is the kinetic energy of an object of mass m moving with velocity v?
Hint: It is proportional to the square of the velocity.
Answer: The kinetic energy of the object is KE =1/2 mv².
Puzzle 10: Why is energy conserved in a freely falling object?
Hint: Think about the transformation between potential and kinetic energy.
Answer: Energy is conserved in a freely falling object because the loss in potential energy is exactly equal to the gain in kinetic energy.
