One of the best ways to show how kinetic energy and potential energy work together is through fun experiments and everyday examples. Let’s break it down in a simple way.

Gravitational Potential Energy

1. Simple Drop Experiment:

   • Take a ball and hold it up high.
   • When you lift the ball, you are giving it gravitational potential energy. This energy depends on three things: how heavy the ball is (mass), gravity (which pulls everything down), and how high the ball is (height).

2. Observation:

   • When you let go of the ball, it falls. As it falls, it changes from potential energy to kinetic energy.
   • Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. It’s like how fast the ball is moving once it drops.
   • At the top, the ball has a lot of potential energy. As it falls, that energy turns into kinetic energy, which makes it go faster.

Elastic Potential Energy

1. Rubber Band Test:

   • Grab a rubber band and stretch it. As you stretch it, the rubber band stores energy.
   • The more you pull it, the more energy it holds.

2. Release:

   • When you let go of the rubber band, it snaps back!
   • This energy transforms back into kinetic energy, pushing the rubber band forward quickly.

Conclusion

Watching these energy changes is really cool! It helps us understand how energy transforms from one type to another. This shows us the important idea of conservation of energy, which means energy doesn’t just disappear; it changes forms instead.