61

Chapter 3

Work, energy and power

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

In this chapter you will learn how to:

●understand the concepts of kinetic, gravitational potential and elastic potential energy

●understand work done as energy transferred

●understand power as the rate of energy transfer

●understand and apply the principle of energy conservation

●calculate the efficiency in energy transfers.

GUIDING questions

How are we led to the law of energy conservation, and how do we use it to describe changes in systems?