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8th Grade Comp Science
Mrs. Colyer's
Kinetic and Potential Energy
Potential Energy - stored energy or energy waiting to be released
Kinetic Energy - the energy of movement
Law of the Conservation of Energy - states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed.
Motion - a change in position measured by distance and time
Speed - The rate that an object is moving for example, miles per hour (mph) or meters per second (mps)
Velocity - the speed and direction of a moving object.
Acceleration - the rate (speed) or direction changes
2 types of graphs
1. Distance and Time - Shows the change in distance over time
2. Speed and Time -shows the change in speed over time
Motion - Speed, Distance and Time
Essential Questions -
1. How are kinetic and potential energy different? Both kinetic and potential energy have the ability to cause change. Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to motion. Potential energy is stored energy that an object has due to its position and can be converted to kinetic energy. Mechanical energy is when you add the kinetic and potential energy together. The amount of mechanical energy in a system remains the same because potential energy can be converted into kinetic energy and kinetic energy can be converted into potential energy.
2. How can forces cause an object to change its motion? Forces are pushes or pulls that cause an object to change its speed or direction of motion.
3. What determines the force of gravity? Gravity is an attractive force that pulls objects. Gravity is determined by the amount of mass an object has and distance between objects. The greater the mass an object has the weaker the force of gravity.
4. How is a reference point used to determine motion? A reference point is a point or location that can be used to compare other locations.
5. How are distance, time and speed related? Speed is a rate that is determined by dividing the distance traveled by the time it took to travel.
Forces, Motion and Energy Transformations
Click PDF button under each heading
- EOC Review - - Vocabulary terms - - Kinetic and Potential Energy article
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