What happens to the System (s) energies throughout its journey?

[pxp004]

I really need help with conceptual understanding of this topic. Heres the question:

What happens to Energy of source, delta KE, delta Potential, delta Energy Dissipated, and Work of the systems in the question? Basically it's asking the initial and final of these.

The problem is: a car pulls a trailer along a road that climbs from sea level over a mountain and then back to sea level, where it continues to travel at a constant speed. In the process of climbing, the car's engine heats up substantially.

a) System: car, trailer, and earth
b) System: trailer only
c) System: car only

I'm a quick learner at analytical part but i need to understand the conceptual part first which takes me a while. Anyone want to explain the answers to me if you know it. Thanks!

 

[jbsteele]

Answer:a) System: car, trailer, and earthEnergy of Source: The energy of the source will remain the same, since no energy was added to the system.Delta KE: The change in kinetic energy will be the same throughout the system, since the car is traveling at a constant speed.Delta Potential: The change in potential energy for this system will depend on the height of the mountain, as the car and trailer climb up the mountain, their potential energy increases, and as they go down, it decreases.Delta Energy Dissipated: The energy dissipated will be due to the heat created by the car’s engine as it climbs the mountain, so the amount of energy dissipated will depend on how steep the mountain is.Work: The work done by the car and trailer will be the sum of the work done climbing the mountain and the work done going down. It will depend on the height of the mountain and the total distance traveled.b) System: trailer onlyEnergy of Source: The energy of the source will remain the same, since no energy was added to the system.Delta KE: The change in kinetic energy of the trailer will be the same throughout its travel, since it is traveling at a constant speed.Delta Potential: The change in potential energy for the trailer will depend on the height of the mountain, as the trailer climbs up the mountain, its potential energy increases, and as it goes down, it decreases.Delta Energy Dissipated: The trailer does not have an engine, so there will be no energy dissipated by it.Work: The work done by the trailer will be the sum of the work done climbing the mountain and the work done going down. It will depend on the height of the mountain and the total distance traveled. c) System: car onlyEnergy of Source: The energy of the source will remain the same, since no energy was added to the system.Delta KE: The change in kinetic energy of the car will be the same throughout its travel, since it is traveling at a constant speed.Delta Potential: The change in potential energy for the car will depend on the height of the mountain, as the car climbs up the mountain, its potential energy increases, and as it goes down, it decreases.Delta Energy Dissip