4.3 — Potential Energy
Stored energy depends on position and configuration — not motion.
🖼️ One-Page Visual Summary (Infographic)
🧭 Plot Summary
Potential energy is energy that is stored because of an object’s position or configuration. Unlike kinetic energy, it does not require motion — it depends on the situation the object is in.
In this lesson, you’ll connect potential energy to everyday contexts like lifted objects, stretched springs, and energy “waiting” to be released. The key idea is that potential energy belongs to a system and can be converted into kinetic energy when conditions change.
Why it matters:
Potential energy explains where motion energy comes from. If you can identify what’s stored and why, you can predict how energy will transform when an object is released or a system changes.
Inside: detailed explanations, graphical relationships, mathematical reasoning, and guided practice.
✅ Self-Check
- ◻ I can describe potential energy as stored energy of position/configuration.
- ◻ I can explain why potential energy belongs to a system, not just an object.
- ◻ I can identify examples of gravitational and elastic potential energy.
- ◻ I can predict how potential energy can convert into kinetic energy.
🧪 Graded Assessments
- ✍️ It’s Your Turn
- 🔬 Lab
🎓 Instructor Inside
- ▶️ YouTube Video
- 🧩 Blooket Review
- 📘 Lesson Overview