Episode 6 — Potential & Kinetic Energy

The Law of Conservation of Energy

Learners will be able to:

• Define the law of conservation of energy • Distinguish between a scientific law and a scientific theory • Explain what "conservation" means in the context of an energy system • Describe the energy transfers occurring in a simple electric circuit (chemical to electrical to kinetic to light and heat) • Explain why energy that leaves a system as heat is described as "dissipated" rather than destroyed • Apply the law of conservation of energy to describe the energy transfers in a cellphone battery in use