The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

College of Professional and Continuing Education

Hong Kong Community College

HKCC Remote Laboratory System*

Mechanics Experiment: Conservation of Energy Laboratory Worksheet

Distance Sensor

115 cm height

85 cm height

Track

Speed Sensors

Spring Launcher
Ball Selector

*HKCC Remote Laboratory is a web-based service to enable remote off-campus access to experimental sets for science and
engineering students. The Remote Lab was financially supported by the Quality Enhancement Support Scheme of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region Government (QESS, HKSAR) and Hong Kong Community College of The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University (PolyU HKCC), under the project title, “Development of a Web-based Remote Laboratory for Science
and Engineering Education”, and project no.: 04/QESS/2021.

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Objective

In this experiment, you will investigate two kinds of mechanical energy: kinetic energy and potential
energy. You will carry out an experiment that demonstrates the conservation of the total mechanical
energy of a system.

Theory

Elastic Potential Energy is the energy associated with the compression or extension of an elastic object,
like a spring. It can be calculated by
1
. . .=
2

where k is the spring constant and x is the displacement of spring.

Gravitational Potential Energy (or Potential Energy) is the energy associated with an object due to its
position in the gravitational field. It can be calculated by

. .=

where m is the mass of an object, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height of an object.

Kinetic Energy is the energy associated with the motion of an object. It can be calculated by

1
. .=
2

where m and v are the mass and speed of an object respectively.

Part 1 of the experiment

The spring in the launcher will be compressed by a trigger. Once the trigger is released, the ball will be
launched from rest with decreasing velocity (v) as its height (h) increases. The total energy of the ball
remains constant in an ideal case, i.e. E. P. E. + P. E. = constant.

Part 2 of the experiment

The ball is now resting at a certain height on the track. Once the gate is open, the ball will be rolling
down from the track freely. The ball starts with all potential energy at the top, and ends up with all
kinetic energy at the bottom. At any time during its rolling, K.E. + P. E. will also be constant.

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Procedure

1. Select the ball materials (either wood or plastic) and height for rolling down through the track
(85 or 115 cm) under the “Controls” tab. Then, click “Start” button to begin the experiment.

Figure 1

2. Observe your selected ball being pushed to the spring launcher by the linear actuator. You can
click on the live Camera 2 to enlarge the view.

3. Once the ball is pushed down to the launcher, the spring within the launcher will be compressed
by the trigger. The ball will be fired vertically, and the change of ball height will be recorded by
the distance sensor automatically after the release of the trigger.

4. The ball will be held at your selected height. You can click on the live Camera 1 to enlarge the
view. The ball will then roll down from the track automatically.

5. Record the maximum (vertical) height of the ball and the top speed from rolling down the track
from your selected height (Figure 2), and other settings in the “Results” Section below.

6. The change of ball height can be downloaded in .CSV format for further analysis (Figure 2).

7. You may start a new trial of the experiment with same settings or new one.

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Figure 2

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 Yu Yanheng 23154600A

Results

Trial Ball Materials Height for Rolling Maximum Height Top Speed
Selected Down through the (cm) (m/s)
(Wood or Plastic) Track (115 or 85 cm)
1
plastic 85cm 144cm 4.3645 mls
2
85can 145cm 4.5645 mls
3 Piotii 85cm 144cm 4.29258m15
4
Plastic 85 cm 143 cm 4.29258m15
5
85 km 145cm 5.2787mIs
6 Piglk 85 cm 142cm 5.27287mIs
7
plastic 85 cm 5.2787mg
8
plastic 85cm I出5cmm 5.35103mIs

Analysis and Discussion

8. Calculate the elastic potential energy stored by the spring in the launcher if the spring constant
(k) is 23 N/m. Given the displacement of spring for wood ball is 8.3 cm and plastic ball is 7 cm
respectively.

Elastic Potential Energy (E.P.E.) Stored

2
E.P.E. (wood ball)
123 0.083 0.0792235J
2
E.P.E. (plastic ball)
I 23 007 0565J
9. Calculate the (average) potential energy stored by the ball after reaching its maximum height
after launching.

(Average) Potential Energy (P.E.) Stored (at its maximum height)

P.E. (wood ball)

5.5X10 S 81 144.25 7 783J
P.E. (plastic ball) 10.011 9.81 144.251 15.56J

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10. Calculate the (average) kinetic energy of the ball.

(Average) Kinetic Energy (K.E.) of the ball

K.E. (wood ball)

1.5X10 9.811
K.E. (plastic ball)
之10.011 4.32855sy 0.10305J
11. Does the total energy for the ball remain the same in part 1 and part 2 of the experiment? Explain
why and why not.

ineiiiǐtli not rollins it is

rest therefore the enersy will not lost
or
sain

not shme in
part2
pI will turn to ks base on
the Conservation of the
enersy so

End of Laboratory Worksheet

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