Question

Taro stated that when someone hits a golf ball with a club, the amount of energy the ball has changes, the amount of energy that the club has changes, and the total energy of the system that includes the ball and the club increases. Which best explains Taro’s error?

Answer 1

Taro's error is when he stated that the total energy of the ball and the club system is increasing. This is not true. The total energy of the system is not increasing. According to the first law of thermodynamics, total energy of a system is always constant; energy can be transformed from one form to another however it cannot be created or destroyed. Energy is conserved. So, for this problem the total energy of the system should remain constant at all times.

Answer 2

The total energy of the system remains the same.