physicsman2 said:why is the gravitational potential energy of a ball equal to its kinetic energy
Conservation of energy is a fundamental principle in physics that states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.
In this problem, conservation of energy applies by ensuring that the total amount of energy remains constant throughout the system, even if it changes forms. This means that the initial energy of the system must be equal to the final energy of the system.
The different forms of energy that are conserved in this problem may include kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy, and chemical energy.
The most commonly used equations to solve conservation of energy problems include the law of conservation of energy, the work-energy theorem, and the formula for calculating potential energy.
Conservation of energy can be seen in many real-life situations, such as a pendulum swinging back and forth, a roller coaster moving along a track, a bowling ball rolling down a hill, or a car braking to a stop. In all of these examples, energy is being transformed from one form to another, but the total amount of energy remains the same.