Potential Energy 2.1.4

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-nutrition/are-energy-drinks-bad-for-you

Are energy drinks bad for you? August 7, 2025

More than 500 energy drink products are on the market in the U.S., with annual sales topping $25 billion, and projected to exceed $50 billion by 2033.

There's no magic formula in energy drinks; it's mostly old-fashioned caffeine that provides the jolt. Consumer Reports tested 27 energy drinks and found that the amount of caffeine ranged from 6 to 242 milligrams (mg) per serving - and there is more than one serving in some cans and bottles.


By comparison:

• coffee has roughly 100 mg of caffeine in a 5- to 8-ounce cup

• 12 ounces of Coca-Cola has 50 mg.
  
  

Most of the drinks also contain lots of sugar, which along with the caffeine can lead to a rush of energy and then a crash (just like the sugar in a candy bar). Even sugar-free or 'natural' energy drinks often contain high doses of caffeine and can pose similar health risks.

From 2022 to 2023, there was a 24.2% increase in cases of pediatric exposure to energy drinks for children and teens under 20 years old, according to America's Poison Centers. The majority, or 78%, of these cases were unintentional exposures, meaning the children did not realize they were consuming energy drinks or how much caffeine they were drinking.

Emergency room visits related to caffeine overdose or adverse effects more than doubled for middle school children from 2017 to 2023.

Research has shown that energy drinks can disrupt normal heart function. People who consume energy drinks experience elevated blood pressure and abnormal electrical activity in the heart for hours afterward - changes that may raise the risk of serious, potentially life-threatening arrhythmias.

Case reports have also linked heavy energy drink use, especially when combined with alcohol or intense physical exertion, to episodes of cardiac arrest.

Potential energy comes in many forms, including:

• energy of position;

• chemical energy;

• batteries.

Energy of Position

Any object located above the ground has energy from its position. Consider the plants on these shelves.

The plants are not moving, so they have no kinetic energy.

However, the plants have the potential to fall off the shelf toward the ground. The plants have potential energy because gravity pulls them toward Earth.

​Chemical Energy

Chemical energy is energy stored within molecules. Many molecules, or groups of atoms, contain energy stored in the bonds between the atoms. Rearranging those atoms can release the chemical energy to convert it to kinetic energy.

Chemical energy is commonly found in:

• food

• fuel

• batteries

​burning coal

​Batteries

A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Substances inside the battery contain chemical energy. Electrical devices use that chemical energy to produce electricity and do work.

Many devices you use daily contain batteries.

• smart phones

• vehicles

• laptops

Batteries contain potential energy because they store energy to use at a later time.

On Earth, the value for g is always 9.8 m/s²

• PE represents potential energy

• m represents mass

• g represents gravity from Earth

• h represents height above the ground

​PE= mgh

Potential Energy Problems

​The value of g represents the strength of the pull of Earth's gravity on an object.

​PE=mgh

​PE=?
m=0.9 kg
g=9.8/s²
h=200 m

​PE=mgh
PE=0.9 ⋅ 9.8 ⋅ 200

​PE= Joules

​A peregrine falcon has a mass of about 0.9 kg. What is the potential energy of a peregrine falcon soaring above Earth's surface at 200m. ?