Kinetic and Potential energy | The physics behind trampolines

Potential Energy on Shelves Gizmo : Lesson Info : ExploreLearning by Mary Christine

Many people have been on trampolines before. The springy surface throwing you back up and into the sky everytime you come back down. Not only are trampolines a great way to get moving and have fun, but they also show us a ton of physics. Your kinetic and potential energy changing with every jump. But how? Let's freeze time right as your feet hit the trampoline. There are two types of energy happening because of your recent motion. Kinetic and potential energy. Kinetic energy is the energy that an object has when it is in motion. Otherwise known as the energy of motion. Currently, your kinetic energy is at its peak, just before you hit level ground. Potential energy is an object's stored up energy, what energy the object can use when moving. Your peak of potential energy is the same number as the peak of your kinetic energy, they just happen at two different points. Right now, with your feet at level ground, your potential energy is at 0, a complete opposite of your kinetic energy which has recently reached its max. We start time again and stop it just in time for your feet to be at their lowest point. The trampoline has bent downwards and is just about to spring you back up and into the air. An example of Newton's third law of physics. At this point, your kinetic energy is at 0 and your potential energy is climbing to its max. We let time go again just to freeze it while you are at the peak of your jump. Your potential energy is now the same as your kinetic energy was when your feet were at level ground, maxed out. Plus, your kinetic energy is at the same as your potential energy was when you were at level ground, 0. Meaning that you energy when jumping on the trampoline were opposites of each other at certain points. If that part seemed weird, you might want to stop jumping on the trampoline because these are the formulas for you to use when wanting to figure out potential and kinetic energy of objects. First off, potential, the formula for potential energy is U=mgh, where u is potential energy, m is mass, g is gravitational acceleration and h is height. Now kinetic, the formula for kinetic energy is K=1/2 m(v squared) when K is kinetic, m is mass and v is speed. Using all of this you can jump into physics with a basic knowledge of potential and kinetic energy.

S&EP
SP2: Using models

Models help scientists understand a lot of things, it can also help scientists to see how things work and why they work. But models and simulations help scientists when testing things an doing experiments. One of the ways that you can represent kinetic and potential energy is through a simulation type model. Like items on a shelf. When the said items are on the shelf, they have no kinetic energy and the max potential energy, if you knock the item off of the shelf, the potential energy decreases as it falls and the kinetic energy increases as it is falling down until it reaches its max. This shows the pattern of potential and kinetic energy in a visual and interactive model.

XCC
XCC: Patterns

Patterns are all around us. You find them in nature, schedules, and science. One representation of patterns seen in science is kinetic and potential energy. This is a pattern because of the way the values of potential and kinetic energy work. When the potential energy of an object is at 0, the kinetic energy value is at its max. Then when you get to a point where the value of kinetic energy is at zero, the potential energy is the same max value that the kinetic energy value was when the potential energy value was at zero. This can be seen on hills. At the top of the hill, the potential energy is at say, 250 joules, the kinetic energy is at 0 joules. Then at the bottom of the hill, the potential energy is at 0 joules and the kinetic energy is at 250 joules. Then you go up a smaller hill and the potential energy is at 100 joules and the kinetic energy is at 0 joules. Once you reach the bottom of that hill, the potential energy is at 0 joules and the kinetic energy is at 100 joules. This repeats over and over as a pattern.