Mistake Master
Mistake Master · AP Physics 1 · Unit 7 · Step-Through Animation
One Joule, Traded Forever
You'll learnhow kinetic and potential energy trade off while total energy stays fixed.
A block, a spring, and a single joule that never leaves — it just changes pockets. The energy well makes the whole trade visible: kinetic at the bottom, potential at the walls, and a total that refuses to move.
ENERGY LAB
Before you start
What you're looking at
A 2 kg block on a spring (k = 50 N/m, A = 0.2 m) beside an energy-well chart and two energy bars.
The question
As the block oscillates, how does its one joule split between motion and spring stretch?
Watch for
Predict the energy split at the center and at the endpoints; the dashed total line never moves.
What the symbols mean
Violet parabola = spring potential energy; blue = kinetic energy; dashed line = the fixed total; their gap = kinetic share.
Step 1 / 8