Energy Transformation and Conservation

As energy is transformed, the total amount of energy does not change. The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. A roller coaster car is lifted to the top of a steep hill using mechanical kinetic energy. At the top, it has a large amount of potential energy. As it moves down the hill, it has kinetic energy again. However, some of its energy is converted to sound and to thermal energy due to friction. As it continues to move, the car’s energy decreases as it is transformed to other types of energy, but the total amount of energy does not change.