Conservation of Energy

Question 1

What does the principal of conservation of energy state and what does it mean?

Answer 1

The principle of conservation of energy states that:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred from one store to another. This means the total amount of energy in a closed system remains constant
The total energy transferred into a system must be equal to the total energy transferred out of the system

Question 2

What happens to the total amount of energy in a closed system?

Answer 2

The total amount of energy in a closed system remains constant.

Question 3

What is the rule about the total energy transferred into a system?

Answer 3

The total energy transferred into a system must be equal to the total energy transferred out of the system.

Question 4

Considering that energy is never ‘lost’ - what happens to it?

Answer 4

Energy is never ‘lost’ but it can be transferred to one store to another (the surroundings).

Question 5

Describe dissipated energy (spread out energy)

Answer 5

Dissipated energy transfers are often not useful, and can then be described as wasted energy.