Kinetic and Potential Energy
Overview
This module is a brief introduction to making a distinction between kinetic and potential energy. The laws of potential energy inform many of our definitions later in chemistry and are especially useful when related specifically to charges.
Kinetic and Potential Energy
Focus on how charges interact:
high potential energy = two like charges together OR two opposite charges far apart
low potential energy = two like charge far apart OR two opposite charges close together
Also, "low" means a negative value (typically) and "high" means a positive value (typically)
A great questions that students ask is "why?" Why do chemical processes occur at all, what is the driving force? In a word, energy. We favor LOWER energy.
In this video, we loosely define kinetic energy as the energy of motion and potential energy as the energy of position.
High potential energy = undesirable position
Low potential energy = desirable position