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
Energy conservation is a fundamental principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed from one form to another within a closed system.
Potential energy is stored energy due to an object's position or condition. It can be gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy, or chemical potential energy.
Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion. The faster an object moves and the more mass it has, the greater its kinetic energy.
Work: In physics, work refers to the transfer of mechanical energy from one object to another through force applied over a distance. It is equal to force multiplied by displacement in the direction of force.