Forces may change the shape of an object. An elastic object, such as a spring, stores elastic potential energy when stretched or squashed. The extension of an elastic object is directly ...

The Work Energy Principle is one of the big ideas in introductory physics courses. It’s so big that the textbook presentation can get a little confusing – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Spring potential energy. Thus the spring potential energy is: And you see it doesn't even matter if I push the block at a constant speed or not. Warning: Now say you want to use this new spring ...

Many types of mechanical systems use elastic potential energy. The most common device that uses this type of energy is a spring. Credit: Svjo. When a force is applied to a spring, it is placed in ...