Conservative And Non-conservative Forces
Which of the following statements correctly distinguishes a conservative force from a non-conservative force in the context of energy and work along a closed path?
Select the correct option:
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About This Question
- Subject
- physics
- Chapter
- work, energy and power
- Topic
- conservative and non-conservative forces
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Work done by a conservative force around any closed path is zero, while a non-conservative force does nonzero work
As described in NCERT Class 11, Chapter 6 (Work, Energy and Power), a conservative force is one for which the work done depends only on the initial and final positions and not on the path taken; consequently the work done around any closed loop is exactly zero. Gravity and the spring force are conservative, whereas friction is non-conservative and does nonzero work over a closed path, dissipating energy as heat. The option claiming a conservative force always does positive work is false, since gravity does negative work when an object rises. The option about speed dependence is incorrect because conservative forces depend on position, not speed. The option claiming only non-conservative forces store potential energy is reversed, since potential energy is defined only for conservative forces. A consistency check: the closed-path criterion is the defining test, and only conservative forces satisfy it, which makes the first statement correct.
This medium difficulty physics question is from the chapter work, energy and power, covering the topic of conservative and non-conservative forces. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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