Could somebody give me a few whacky examples involving potential or kinetic energy?
Best example is a roller coaster going over a large hump. Roller coasters in general is a great example because they use gravity as their main source of speed which means that potential Energy (GPE or Gravitational Potential Energy) and Kinetic Energy (KE) are generally inversely proportional (as one goes up the other goes down). At resting point, there is no GPE or KE (as height = 0 and velocity = 0). As the coaster goes up the hump, potential energy increases while kinetic energy will roughly stay the same (assuming velocity is constant). At the highest point, GPE will be greatest (as height is greatest), while KE will be very small (the coaster is quite slow as it goes over the crest). At the bottom of the hump, the coaster will have a massive amount of KE (as it is going fast), but very little GPE (as height will be close to zero).
