Conservative Forces and Path Independence

Conservative forces are forces for which the work done depends only on the starting and ending points. In this case, the work is path independent. That means the total energy of the system, including kinetic energy and potential energy, stays conserved during the change.

This idea follows the law...

Forces can be categorized as conservative and non-conservative forces.

Gravitational, electrostatic, and elastic restoring forces are a few examples of conservative forces.

For example, a car at rest possesses potential energy while its kinetic energy is zero. When the car starts moving, its potential energy is converted to kinetic...