Pre-Lab Questions

1. The force due to a spring is variable and is quantified by F = kx, where k is the
spring constant and x is the displacement. Given the graph of the force versus
displacement graph for a spring in Figure 5, write an equation for the amount of
work done by the spring.

N/A

2. Consider the ball example in the introduction

when a ball is dropped from 3 meters. After
the ball bounces, it raises to a height of 2
meters. The mass of the ball is 0.5 kg

a. What is the speed of the ball right

before the bounce?
Figure 5: Force versus displacement of a
spring.

b. How much energy was converted into heat after the ball bounced off the
ground. (Hint: Thermal Energy (TE) will now need to be included in your
conservation of energy equation and you will now need to know the mass
of the ball)

N/A

c. What is the speed of the ball immediately after the ball bounces off the
ground?

N/A

3. Both kinetic and potential energy are part of the thrill of roller coasters. For this
exercise, you will examine the path of a roller coaster and describe what type of
energy is at work. Use Figure 6 to answer the following questions:

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 Figure 6: Different points in a roller coaster’s motion.

a. Describe the kinetic and potential energy at each point of the roller coaster path.

b. What happens to the roller coaster’s kinetic energy between Points B and C? What
happens to its potential energy between these points?

c. Why is it important for Point A to be higher than Point C?

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d. What causes the roller coaster train to lose energy over its trip?

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