More Conservation of Energy Problem Examples

Guide 8-6. More Conservation of Energy Problem Examples

The following example problems bring in additional elements to a conservation of energy solution. These may include combining conservation of energy and net force methods, dealing with connected objects, or introducing algebraic complexity such as situations leading to quadratic equations.

Example 1

This is an example of a combined energy-circular motion problem. The method of solution shown can also be applied to pendulums and swings where you're asked to find the tension in a string or rope.

Example 2

This is an example of a connected object problem that can be solved using conservation of energy. When more than one object is involved such as in a connected object problem, you simply include kinetic and potential energy contributions from all the objects.

Example 3

This is an example of a problem requiring the solution of a quadratic equation.