Potential and kinetic energy Flashcards
What is potential energy?
Energy that is stored in a system.
What type of energy is stored in a compressed spring?
Elastic potential energy.
What is gravitational potential energy?
Energy stored in an object due to its position above the earth.
What is the kind of energy stored in Uranium?
Chemical potential energy.
What kind of energy is stored in a battery?
Chemical potential energy. Be careful here, the potential energy is only converted in electrical energy once the battery is connected into a circuit and the current flows.
What unit is energy measured in?
Joules
What is kinetic energy?
Energy of an object because it is moving.
What is thermal energy?
Energy produced by heat sources.
What is temperature?
How hot or cold an object is.
What is the law of the conservation of energy?
Energy can’t be created or destroyed but simply changes from one form to another.
Describe the energy changes in a nuclear reactor that creates electricity.
Uranium (chemical potential energy) reacts to form heat (thermal energy) which boils water to create steam which then turns a turbine (kinetic energy) which then generates electricity (electrical energy).
