Energy Conservation Rapid Review for AP Physics B & C

For a more thorough review, refer to these concepts:

• Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, and the Work-Energy Theorem for AP Physics B & C
• Conservation of Energy for AP Physics B & C
• Energy Conservation: Of Special Interest to Physics C Students

Rapid Review

• Energy is the ability to do work. Both energy and work are scalars.
• The work done on an object (or by an object) is equal to that object's change in kinetic energy.
• Potential energy is energy of position, and it comes in a variety of forms; for example, there's gravitational potential energy and spring potential energy.
• The energy of a closed system is conserved. To solve a conservation of energy problem, start by writing KE_i + PE_i + W = KE_f + PE_f , where "i" means "initial," "f " means "final," and W is the work done by friction. Think about what type of PE you're dealing with; there might even be more than one form of PE in a single problem!
• Power is the rate at which work is done, measured in watts. Power is equal to work/time, which is equivalent to force multiplied by velocity.
• If the functional form of a conservative force is known, then the potential energy attributable to that force is given by

When this U is graphed against displacement, the motion of an object can be predicted by imagining "Chris on a skateboard" skating on the graph.