This means that if you want your marble to do something exciting like go up a ramp, through a loop, or over a jump, it is important to build a smooth track so the marble does not lose too much energy to bumps and collisions. Friction can even cause the marble to come to a stop on a long, flat stretch of track. As the marble loses energy due to friction and collisions, it may have trouble getting over smaller hills. Due to conservation of energy, the marble can never go over a hill higher than where it started. The marble will need enough kinetic energy to get over the hill, or it will come to a stop and then roll backwards. What does all this mean for your marble run? It is very important if you want your marble to go up over a hill! As it goes back up a hill, some of the marble's kinetic energy is converted back to potential energy. The total amount of energy in the system remains the same. This energy does not disappear, however-it is converted into other forms like heat and sound. The marble also loses a small amount of energy due to friction, or when it collides with the walls of the track. Its potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, the energy of motion. When you release the marble, gravity starts to pull it down the track. Potential energy is the energy an object stores due to its height off the ground and its mass.

What happens as your marble races down your marble run? First, when you raise your marble off the ground, you give it gravitational potential energy*.

Pocket marble runs