Conservation of Energy

Tyler Dillman
SPH 4U
Ms. MLeod
Performed October 13th
Due October 23th

Abstract:
The objective of this investigation was to determine if the energy in a
system in simple harmonic motion was or was not conserved. It was found, as
expected, that the gravitational energy was not completely transformed into
kinetic energy, but some of that energy was lost in the form of resistance.
Introduction:
The purpose of this experiment is to measure the potential energy and the
kinetic energy of a mechanical system and to quantitatively compare the two
forms of mechanical energy to determine if the total mechanical energy is
conserved. Recall that energy is defined as the ability to do work. Work is done
when energy is transferred from one system to another, for instance, when a
force is applied to an object. Energy may be either potential or kinetic. Potential
energy (PE) is energy stored and ready for use. A car stopped at the top of a hill
has potential energy. The other form of energy is kinetic energy (KE). Kinetic
energy is the energy of motion. A car rolling downhill has kinetic energy. Kinetic
energy comes in six forms - chemical, electrical, radiant, mechanical, nuclear,
and thermal- and that each of these forms can be converted into any of the other
forms. A power plant that uses coal to generate electricity for your home is a
complex system that converts the chemical energy in coal into thermal energy,
mechanical energy, and then electrical energy. Energy cannot be created or
destroyed, but it can be converted and transferred. When potential energy is
converted into any of the six forms of kinetic energy, the total energy in the

system before the conversion equals the total energy after conversion: PE + KE
= PE + KE.

Theory:
A pendulum will be the mechanical system that is employed in this
experiment. It consists of a large mass suspended from a stationary point by a
relatively massless string. The center of mass of the pendulum will be located
directly below the suspension point when the mass is in its equilibrium position.
When the center of mass of the pendulum is displaced from its equilibrium
position and released the pendulum will oscillate back and forth on either side of
the equilibrium position. This equilibrium position is also the lowest point of
pendulum motion.

The pendulum operates in the gravitational field of the earth. The

gravitational field is an example of a conservative force field. Mechanical energy
exists in two forms, gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy.
Gravitational potential energy is the energy of position, and increases with
relative height. Kinetic energy is energy of motion. At every point in the motion of
the pendulum the total mechanical energy is conserved. At the highest points of
the masss motion, the total mechanical energy is all in the form of gravitational
potential energy. The lowest point of its motion is referred to as the equilibrium
point and at this point the total mechanical energy is all in the form of kinetic
energy. ( See Diagram 1 in Appendix D)

When the pendulum is displaced to one side, it is raised in height vertically

by an amount equal to h above the lowest point of the motion. The following
equation expresses the gravitational potential energy (PE) at this highest point of
the motion:

PEmax = mgh = mg(h2 - h1) = max gravitational potential energy

(1)

Where m = mass of pendulum; g=acceleration due to gravity (9.81 meters/sec 2 );

h = change in height.

When the pendulum is released from the highest point of its motion, the
amount of gravitational potential energy begins to decrease as the speed of the
pendulum increases and the gravitational potential energy is converted into
kinetic energy.

At the lowest point of its motion the pendulums total mechanical energy is
all in the form of kinetic energy. The kinetic energy (KE) is given by the following
formula:

KEmax = mvmax2

(2)

Where vmax is the velocity at the lowest point of the motion.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be converted and

transferred. When potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, the total
energy in the system before the conversion equals the total energy after
conversion: PE + KE = PE + KE. So that,

(3)

Where m = mass of pendulum, v = velocity at certain point, h = height above

equilibrium, g = acceleration due to gravity. In the real world, friction, wind
resistance, and other non-conservative forces are always in effect; therefore,
conservation of energy is theoretical. It is expected that the energy through the
equilibrium position will not equal the energy at the highest point of the motion of
the bob.

Apparatus:
2 m string
2 retort stands
2 clamps
1 mass
1 clip
Stopwatch
Method:

The pendulum system was set up using two retort strands so that the
string was in a V shape formation. One of the ends of the string was tied to one
retort stand and the other was clipped, allowing for quick changes of the string
length. The pendulum bob was held perpendicular to the floor and the height
from the equilibrium position was measured and recorded. The bob was then
released from its perpendicular position and the time required to complete 20
cycles was measured using a stopwatch. The same steps were used with four
other string lengths.
Results and Calculations:
For development of velocity formula, refer to Appendix A.
For calculations refer to Appendix B.

The mass of the bob is 100g.

Trial

20T (s)

H (cm)

Energy at Speed
hmax (J)
through
eq. pos.
(m/s)
0.51
2.40

Energy
through
eq. pos
(J)
0.29

Difference
of energy
(J)

30.72

51.5

27.78

42.5

0.42

2.17

0.24

0.18

24.09

31.5

0.31

1.88

0.18

0.13

20.38

24.0

0.24

1.59

0.13

0.11

0.22

15.22

15.5

0.15

1.19

0.07

0.08

The mass of the bob is 100g.

(Table 1)
For percent error of each trial, refer to Appendix B.

The pendulum system loses energy from resistance in two way, 1) air
resistance and, 2) resistance at the points of pivot. The resistance at the points of
pivot is constant for all 5 trials but air resistance is directly proportional to the
radius of the string (see Appendix C). Therefore, as the radius decreases, the
force of air resistance decreases, and the energy of the pendulum through the
equilibrium position is be more conserved, decreasing the difference in the
energies.
Error Analysis:
The average percent error was calculated to be 45%.
Discussion and Conclusion:
Bumpers should be designed to protect car bodies from damage in lowspeed collisions, absorbing crash energy without significant damage to the
bumper itself. Bumpers must be able to convert all of the kinetic energy from the
crash by warping, thus transferring all of the energy into work done on the
bumper. This is achieved by the material and the shape of the bumper. However,
bumpers do not act like ideal springs because bumpers have mass, and weight
and losses due to damping.

A car suspension has springs, so that when the wheels experience a jolt
up or down, it isn't immediately transmitted to the car body (and its occupants).
Instead, the spring compresses, allowing the wheel to rise without the body
rising, or the spring expands, allowing the wheel to fall without the body falling.
Additionally, once the jolting process is gone, the spring naturally acts to push the
wheel back into position - the compressed spring expands, forcing the wheel
back down, or the extended spring contracts, pulling the wheel back up.
However, once the spring has been set into motion it will continue oscillating in
simple harmonic motion. Cars have shock absorbers to stop to this. The shock
absorber is just a piston in a cylinder full of something viscous, so that it presents
a drag force to motion in either direction. This rapidly damps out the oscillation of
the wheel-spring assembly. Shock absorbers on cars have a very high level of
damping. The controlled mass (car body) will ideally return to equilibrium in the
shortest possible time once vibrated. Such systems are said to be critically
damped. This is important in a car suspension system to avoid any unnecessary
movement or oscillation that may be uncomfortable or potential dangerous for its
passengers.
During the experiment, it was apparent there was an exchange of energy
from gravitational to kinetic. It was also apparent that the system seemed
conserved to some degree since the bob continued to oscillate for a long period
of time. However, it was equally apparent that the speed and the height of the
bob were decreasing with each cycle. The measurements from the experiment

support that the mechanical energy of the system was not entirely conserved,
and there was energy lost because of air resistance and friction. The results of
this experiment were exactly as expected, and it was confirmed that energy is
lost from a system of simple harmonic motion.