A student claims: "When a ball is thrown vertically upward in the absence of air…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials
Problem
A student claims: "When a ball is thrown vertically upward in the absence of air resistance, its total mechanical energy remains constant at every point of its flight." Consider this situation in detail.
(a) State the conditions under which mechanical energy of a system remains conserved.
(b) Explain qualitatively how the kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy of the ball vary with height during its upward and downward motion.
(c) On your answer sheet, sketch a qualitative graph showing the variation of kinetic energy, potential energy and total mechanical energy of the ball with height measured from the point of projection.