1. Give an example of a physical situation where a force does work. Explain why work is done in this situation.
2. Consider the following situation:
A child sits in a swing at a playground. Her father pulls her back and releases her so that she swings back and forth. The motion of the swing changes over time, and eventually the swing is at rest.
What measurable quantity determines the potential energy in this situation? When is it a maximum? When is it a minimum?
3. Consider the following situation:
A child sits in a swing at a playground. Her father pulls her back and releases her so that she swings back and forth. The motion of the swing changes over time, and eventually the swing is at rest.
What measurable quantity determines the kinetic energy in this situation? When is it a maximum? When is it a minimum?
4. When the swing is first released it has mechanical energy. When it comes to rest, it has none. If the law of Conversation of Energy says that the energy of a system stays constant, how can we explain this using the physics of energy?
5. Carlos and Cathy are standing still at the bottom of the stairs in the LTB. Both climb the stairs to the mezzanine and stop there. Assume that both students have the same mass.
In this process, did Carlos do more work than Cathy? Did Cathy do more work than Carlos? Explain.
6. Carlos and Cathy are standing still at the bottom of the stairs in the LTB. Both climb the stairs to the mezzanine and stop there. Assume that both students have the same mass.
If I told you that Cathy had a higher average power output than Carlos during this time, what would I have noticed was different if I had watched them climb the stairs?