Lawrence J'mie

TITLE: Energy

AIM: To verify the law of conservation of energy

APPARATUS / MATERIALS: stopwatch, electronic balance, meter rule, object.

DIAGRAM:

PROCEDURE:

1. Measured the mass of the object

2. Dropped the object at a height of 1m above the ground and recorded the time taken

3. Repeated step 2, 5 times to determine the average drop time.

RESULTS:

Mass of object: 20.3g

𝑡1 /s 𝑡2 /s 𝑡3 /s 𝑡4 /s 𝑡5 /s 𝑡/s

0.34 0.37 0.31 0.28 0.35 0.33

CALCULATIONS:

The gravitational potential energy of the object before the drop:

: m*g*h
: 0.02kg*10ms^-2*1m
= 0.20 J
The gravitational potential energy of the object before the drop was 0.2 J

The gravitational potential energy of the object after the drop:

: m*g*h
: 0.02kg*10ms^-2*0
=0J
The gravitational potential energy of the object after the drop was 0 J

The kinetic energy of the object before the drop:

: v = u + at
: v = 0ms^-1 + (10ms^-2*0)
: v= 0ms^-1
: v^2 = (0ms^-1)^2
: v^2 =0ms^-1
KE= (1/2*m)*v^2
KE = (1/2*0.02kg)*0ms^-1
KE = 0 J
The kinetic energy of the object before the drop was 0 J
The kinetic energy of the object before the drop:
: V^2 = u^2 + 2as
: v^2 = (0ms^-1)^2 + 2(10ms^-2*0m)
: v^2 = 0ms^-1 + 0ms^-1
: v^2 = 0ms^-1
KE= (1/2*m)*v^2
KE = (1/2*0.02kg)*0ms^-1
KE = 0 J
The kinetic energy of the object before the drop was 0 J

The kinetic energy of the object after the drop:

: v = u + at
: v = 0ms^-1 + (10ms^-2*0.33)
: v= 3.3ms^-1
: v^2 = (3.3ms^-1)^2
: v^2 =10.89ms^-1
KE= (1/2*m)*v^2
KE = (1/2*0.02kg)*10.89ms^-1
KE = 0.11 J
The kinetic energy of the object after the drop was 0.11 J
The kinetic energy of the object after the drop:
: V^2 = u^2 + 2as
: v^2 = (0ms^-1)^2 + 2(10ms^-2*1m)
: v^2 = 0ms^-1 + 20ms^-1
: v^2 = 20ms^-1
KE= (1/2*m)*v^2
KE = (1/2*0.02kg)*20ms^-1
KE = 0.2 J
The kinetic energy of the object after the drop was 0.2 J
DISCUSSION:

Energy may be defined as the ability to do work. The law of conversation of energy
states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, only converted to another form. This means
that the total energy present at every stage in a chain of energy conversions is the same. Energy
is never lost, however it is sometimes considered to be in a diluted form. At the end of most
energy chains the final form is heat. Due to this, heat is considered as a degraded form of
energy. There are many forms of energy but the two main types are kinetic and potential energy.
In this experiment we would be looking at a form of potential energy which is gravitational
potential energy and kinetic energy. Gravitational potential energy is calculated using the formula
m*g*h. In the formula, m represents mass of the object, g represents acceleration due to gravity
and h is the height. The formula for kinetic energy is (1/2*m)*v^2.The formula represents half of
an object's mass (1/2*m) multiplied by the velocity squared (v^2).

In this experiment, the law of conservation of energy was tested using the calculation
of the block’s energy before and after it was dropped. A block that weighed 20.3g/0.02kg was
held above the ground at a height of 1m and dropped onto the floor and the time taken was
recorded. This step was repeated 5 times and then the average time taken was calculated and it
was found to be 0.33s. The gravitational potential energy of the block before the drop was
calculated using the formula m*g*h and it was found to be 0.20 Joules. The gravitational potential
energy of the block after the drop was 0 Joules. The formula for finding kinetic energy was
(1/2*m)*v^2, however, two different formulas were used to find the value of v. The two formulas
used were v = u + at and V^2 = u^2 + 2as and they both got different results. One of the formulas
would’ve given inaccurate results due to the fact that it didn’t in-cooperate displacement.
Displacement was very important, it shows that the higher the velocity the more kinetic energy
produced. Using the formula that could be substituted to find KE (V^2 = u^2 + 2as), the kinetic
energy before the block was dropped was found to be 0 Joules. This due to the fact that there
was not no motion occurring so no displacement occurred. The kinetic energy of the block after it
was dropped was 0.2 Joules. When the results were analyzed it was fund that the gravitational
potential energy before the drop and the kinetic energy after the drop were the same thus proving
that energy was not lost.
SOURCE OF ERROR:

Human error: while timing the timer may have stopped the stopwatch a few milliseconds
before or after the block hit the ground

PRECAUTION:

We did the experiment indoors to reduce any wind resistance that the object would face

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, the law of conservation of energy was veried.This experiment proved that energy

REFLECTION:

The law of conservation of energy can be seen everyday. An example is during the transfer of e