ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the energy in its various forms, the idea that people can transform energy from one form to another and that in all the transformations the total amount of energy remains constant, that is the principle of the conservation of energy. The energy associated with a lifted load is termed potential energy and the energy associated with motion is termed kinetic energy. When the object falls off the table and down to the floor it loses its potential energy but gains kinetic energy. The object is losing potential energy and gaining kinetic energy and since the plane is stated as being smooth people can assume that there are no frictional effects and so no energy required to overcome friction and be dissipated as heat. Power is the rate at which energy is transferred. Potential energy is often called gravitational potential energy because it is the energy an object has by virtue of moving against a gravitational force.
