Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Total mechanical energy conservation states that the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy remains constant in a closed system where only conservative forces are acting.
Related terms
Conservative force: A force that does work independent of the path taken by an object.
Potential energy function: A mathematical expression that represents the potential energy associated with a particular system.
Law of Conservation of Energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed from one form to another.
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