Mistake Master
Mistake Master · AP Physics C · Unit 3 · Topic 3.3 · Step-Through Animation
Where Zero Sits, and Where the Force Hides
You'll learnthat force is minus the slope of the potential-energy curve, not its height.
Potential energy has no absolute value — you pick the zero, and only the change is real. And the force is never the height of the energy curve; it is minus its slope. Two ideas, one graph.
ENERGY LANDSCAPE
Before you start
What you're looking at
A potential-energy curve U(x) drawn over position, with a hill near x = 2 and a valley near x = 6.
The question
Where along the curve is the force strongest, and which way does it point?
Watch for
The tangent slope, not the height. Steepest slope, not highest point, is where force is largest.
What the symbols mean
Horizontal axis = position x; vertical = potential energy U; the curve is the energy landscape.
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