Recall Energy

“Write down something you know about energy.”

This SWBQ can be used to prompt students to think about energy in a more general sense, beyond introductory level physics. Likely students will respond with particular equations such as $PE=mgh$ or $KE=\frac{1}{2}mv^2$ which are prevalent in lower-division courses. This question can be used to discuss various definitions, equations, and laws involving energy.

This small whiteboard questions part of a sequence of activities addressing the Internal Energy of a One Dimensional System. Other activities included within this sequence are as follows:

• Follow-up activities:
  • Recall Work: This small whiteboard questions prompts students to write down something they know about work.
  • Internal Energy of the "Derivative Machine": This small group activity serves as an introduction to experimentally measuring an integral by determining the internal energy, $U$, of a nonlinear system at several locations.

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