3. The Law of Conservation of Energy Energy is neither created nor destroyed.Instead,it is transformed from one form of energy to another or transferred from one object to another. If the roller coaster does not add any motorized energy and relies on only gravitational potential energy, will the cart be able to reach position 5? Use the Law of conservation in your explanation and include in your explanation any energy transfers or transformations to other forms of __

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3. The Law of Conservation of Energy Energy is neither created nor destroyed.Instead,it is transformed from one form of energy to another or transferred from one object to another. If the roller coaster does not add any motorized energy and relies on only gravitational potential energy, will the cart be able to reach position 5? Use the Law of conservation in your explanation and include in your explanation any energy transfers or transformations to other forms of __

Answer 1

No, the cart will not be able to reach position 5 if it relies solely on the initial gravitational potential energy and no additional energy is added. Here's why, using the Law of Conservation of Energy:* **Initial State (Position 1):** At the highest point (position 1), the roller coaster cart has maximum gravitational potential energy (GPE). We can consider this the total energy of the system since we're assuming no other energy input.* **Energy Transformations and Transfers:** As the cart begins to descend, the GPE is transformed into kinetic energy (KE), the energy of motion. As the cart moves up and down hills, this transformation between GPE and KE happens continuously. Some energy is also transferred to other forms, primarily: * **Thermal Energy (Heat):** Due to friction between the wheels and the track, and air resistance. * **Sound Energy:** The movement of the cart and the interaction with the track produce sound.* **Energy Loss:** The energy transformed into thermal and sound energy is effectively lost from the system in terms of propelling the cart forward. It's not available to be converted back into GPE or KE to help the cart climb subsequent hills.* **Position 5:** To reach position 5, which is higher than the subsequent hills and seemingly almost as high as the starting point, the cart would need enough KE to be converted back into GPE. However, due to the energy lost to friction and sound, the cart will not have enough energy to reach the same height as position 1. Each successive hill will be slightly lower than the previous one.* **Conservation of Energy:** The Law of Conservation of Energy is still upheld. The total energy of the system remains constant (ignoring tiny gains from things like wind). However, the usable energy for propelling the cart decreases as energy is transformed into unusable forms like heat and sound.Therefore, without additional energy input, the roller coaster cart will eventually come to a stop before reaching position 5.

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