A conservative force is one for which work depends only on the starting and ending points of a motion, not on the path taken. We can define potential energy (PE for any conservative force, just as...A conservative force is one for which work depends only on the starting and ending points of a motion, not on the path taken. We can define potential energy (PE for any conservative force, just as we defined PEg for the gravitational force. The potential energy of a spring is PEs=12kx2, where k is the spring’s force constant and |(x\) is the displacement from its undeformed position. Mechanical energy is defined to be KE=PE for conservative force.
