Bennett Science Blog

Credit: Richard Bartz/Wikimedia Commons By Andrew Bennett What Is the Law of Conservation of Energy? There are many different types of energy , such as kinetic, potential, mechanical, and chemical energy. Although the amount of these energies change, the total amount of energy cannot change. This rule is called the law of conservation of energy. Law of Conservation of Energy Definition Energy can leave or enter a system. It can transform from one form to another, such as potential energy changing to kinetic energy. However, it cannot disappear into or appear from nowhere.  It may be a tough job to track it down, but that energy is somewhere ! Conservation of Energy Equation This energy conservation equation is always true: This is read as  "kinetic energy initial + potential energy initial + work from non-conservative forces = kinetic energy final plus potential energy final." The most common "non-conservative forces" that would do work in most pr...