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# Potential Energy

Potential Energy is energy due to position, composition, or arrangement. Also, it is the energy associated with forces of attraction and repulsion between objects. Any object that is lifted from its resting position has stored energy therefore it is called potential energy because it has a potential to do work when released.

### Introduction

For example, when a ball is released from a certain height, it is pulled by gravity and the P.E. is converted to K.E. during the fall. As this energy converts from potential to kinetic, it is important to take into consideration that energy cannot be created nor destroyed (law of conservation of energy). This potential energy becomes kinetic energy as the ball accelerates towards the ground. The object's total energy can be found through the sum of these to energies.

In an exothermic chemical reaction, potential energy is the source of energy. During an exothermic reaction bonds break and new bonds form and protons and electrons go from a structure of higher potential energy to lower potential energy. During this change, potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, which is the heat released in reactions. In an endothermic reaction the opposite occurs. The protons and electrons move from an area of low potential energy to an area of high. This takes in energy.

Potential Energy on a molecular level:Energy stored in bonds and static interactions are:

• Covalent bonds
• Electrostatic forces
• Nuclear forces

### Gravitational Potential Energy

Equation: P.E.= Fx F:opposing force

X: distance moved

• To calculate the PE of an object on Earth or within any other force field the formula

$PE=mgh$

with

• "m" is the mass of the object in kilograms
• "g" is the acceleration due to gravity. On Earth this is 9.8 meters/seconds2
• "h" is the object's height. The height should be in meters.

If the following units are used for the m,g, and h, then the final answer should be given in Joules.

Example 1

A 15 gram ball sits on top of a 2m high refrigerator. What is the potential energy of the ball at the top of the refrigerator?

SOLUTION

use equation PE=mgh

mass =15 grams. This mass however has to be in kilograms. The conversion to grams to kilograms is : 1,000 grams per 1 kg

height=2

g=9.8

PE=(.015)(9.8)(2)=.294 J

Example 2

Ex: How much, in grams, does a cart full of groceries sitting on top of a 2 m hill weigh if its PE is 0.3 J?

SOLUTION

.3=(m)(9.8)(2)

m=.015 kg=15 grams

Example 3

A 200 gram weight is placed on top of a shelf with a PE of 5J. How high is the weight resting?

SOLUTION

5=(200/1000)(9.8)(h)

h=2.55 m

### Coulombic Potential Energy

The PE of two charged particles at a distance can be found through the equation:

$E= \dfrac{q_1 q_2}{4π \epsilon_o r}$

• "r" is distance
• "q1" and "q2" are the charges
• ε0= 8.85x10-12  C2 / Jm

For charges with the same sign, E has a + sign and tends to get smaller as r increases. This can explain why like charges repel each other. Systems prefer a low PE and thus repel each other which increases the distance between them(r) and lowers the PE.

For charges with different charges, the opposite of what is stated above is true. E has a - sign which becomes even more negative as the opposite charged particles attract, or come closer together.

Example 4

Two particles with charges of 3x10-6Coulombs and 3.9x10-6 Coulombs are separated by a distance of 1m. Calculate the PE.

E=(1/4π8.85x10-12)(3x10-6x3.9x10-6/1)

E=0.105 J

Example 5

Find the distance between two particles that have a PE of .2 J and charges of 2.5x10-6 C and 3.1x10-6 C.

.2=(1/4π8.85x10-12)(2.5x10-6 x 3.1x10-6/r)

.2=(8.99x109)(7.75x10-11/r)

.2=.6967/r

cross multiply and solve for "r"

r=3.5m

Includes all interactions in the system such as: in nucleus of atoms; in atoms; between atoms in a molecule (intra-molecular forces); and between different molecules (inter-molecular forces).

### References

1. Tro, Nivaldo J. Chemistry:A Molecular Approach. Pearson. Print.

### Contributors

• Brittanie Harbick (UCD), Laura Suh (UCD), Amrit Paul Bains (UCD)

07:53, 24 Jul 2014

## Classifications

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### Textbook Maps

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