3.4.B—Describe the behavior of a system using conservation of mechanical energy principles

Describe the behavior of a system using conservation of mechanical energy principles.

• Mechanical energy is the sum of a system’s kinetic and potential energies.
• Any change to a type of energy within a system must be balanced by an equivalent change of other types of energies within the system or by a transfer of energy between the system and its surroundings.
• A system may be selected so that the total energy of that system is constant.
• If the total energy of a system changes, that change will be equivalent to the energy transferred into or out of the system.