1. ENERGY! Question: What is Energy?
Answer: The ability to do work (move something) or cause change in a system.
Energy is NOT an object, but something an object can possess due to its condition or state.
All forms of energy are SCALAR. We are only concerned with the amounts of energy objects possess or transfer.

2. Energy! Mechanical Electromagnetic
Energy comes in many forms, but there are two basic categories of energy:
Mechanical
Electromagnetic
Is energy objects possess due to their condition or state. There are three forms of mechanical energy we will be concerned with in this course:
Potential Energy
Kinetic Energy
Work Energy
Is radiant energy, such as visible light, microwaves, radio waves and X-Rays. (These we will study later!)

3. Mechanical Energy!
The total mechanical energy of an object or system is symbolized by ET
ET is the sum of all the different forms of mechanical energy an object or system has at any given time.
For our purposes, ET consists of the 3 basic forms of mechanical energy:
Potential Energy
(PE)
Kinetic Energy
(KE)
Work (W)

4. Mechanical Energy! Elastic (PES) Gravitational (PE)
There are two basic types of Potential Energy (PE) we will study in this course:
Elastic (PES)
Gravitational (PE)
Is energy objects possess due to energy stored when forces are applied to an elastic material, such as a spring.
Is energy objects possess due to their position (height) above the earth’s surface . 4

5. Mechanical Energy! PE = mgh KE = ½ mv2
In our first lab activity, we will be exploring how energy transforms from one form of energy to another. You need to know the units of energy are Joules (J) or Newton-meters (Nm). You also need the following equations:
Potential Energy
(PE)
Kinetic Energy
(KE)
PE = mgh
KE = ½ mv2
Where: m = mass m = mass
g = gravitational acceleration v = velocity
h = height

6. Mechanical Energy! W W = Fd
When PE or KE is changed in order to move or deform an object, the energy that gets used or transformed is called “WORK.” The symbol for work is:
Work is energy and has the same units as all other forms of energy, J or Nm.
The equation for work is also necessary for this activity: W
W = Fd
Where: F = Force applied
d = displacement of the object