Question

What type of energy is stored in a wounded spring watch?
(A) kinetic energy.
(B) potential energy.
(C) heat energy.
(D) chemical energy.

Answer 1

Hint: Energy can be stored in any type of spring when work is done, that is in the case of spring it is when the spring is extended or compressed. Since the spring is a physical material it can only exert physical energy. The spring to exert energy can either be compressed or extended.

Complete step by step answer:
Energy can be explained in a way that the quantitative property should be passed on to the object in order to perform work. Energy is always stored or conserved in the form of quantity. The law of conservation of energy explains that the energy can only be transformed from one state to the other, it also says that energy cannot be generated nor can it be demolished.

In a watch, the spring is permitted to move in a controlled way. Instead of escalating and liberating all the energy at the same time, there is a procedure in the watch by which it levels out the motion. This provides a continuous estimate of rotation for a specific amount of time. After a specific amount of time, the spring of the watch has to be wound back. That is the energy stored in the watch will be of elastic potential energy.

Potential energy can be explained in terms of the energy that an object carries with respect to its position to other objects’ stress of itself. Some of the common potential energies are elastic potential energy, electric potential energy, gravitational potential energy.

Therefore, the energy stored in the spring watch is potential energy. Hence, option (B) potential energy is the right answer.

Note:
The spring of the watch does not have Kinetic energy. This is because the kinetic energy is not released until the spring of the watch is released and starts to move. The extended spring or the compressed spring experiences elastic potential energy. Gravitational potential energy depends on distance at the center of mass.