Conservation of energy is the physics.

That states a system has total energy TE = KE + PE + WE; where

KE is kinetic (mechanical) energy, PE is potential energy, and WE is work energy. And that total energy
remains fixed (constant) because energy is neither created nor destroyed.
What happens is that the make up of TE changes from time to time, and place to place. That is, for
example, TE = PE only when there is no kinetic energy and no work is being done. When a block of wood
of mass m is h meters above the floor, for instance, TE = PE = mgh; where g is gravitational acceleration.
In other words, all the total energy is potential energy in this case.
If we let the block slide down a ramp without friction considered, then TE = KE = 1/2 mv^2 just before
impact with the floor at the foot of the ramp. In other words, all the total energy is kinetic (mechanical)
energy in this case.
What's cool about the conservation of energy law, it that the two TE's are equal to each other. So we have
TE = PE = mgh = 1/2 mv^2 = KE = TE. And they are equal to each other because all the PE was
converted to KE when the block slid. If you use the equations above, you can solve for the velocity v just
prior to impact: v = sqrt(2gh), which you may recognize as a special case for one of the SUVAT
equations.
So what happens to KE when friction is included? Friction represents work done by the sliding block to
overcome the friction force F = kN = kmg cos(theta); where k is the friction coefficient, N is the normal
weight of the block, and theta is the ramp's incline.
As there is work done against the friction, we have WE = Fd = kNd = kmg cos(theta) d; where d is the
distance the block slides along the ramp. h = d sin(theta); so d = h/sin(theta) from release point to the foot
of the ramp when h and theta are given.
So, here's the conservation of TE with friction included. TE = PE = mgh = 1/2 mv^2 + kmgh cot(theta) =
ke + WE = TE. Thus, ke (the kinetic energy when friction is included) = PE - WE = mgh (1 - k cot(theta)) <
KE without friction. And this clearly shows that mechancial (kinetic) energy is degraded by friction. This
means that ke/KE < 100% efficiency when there is friction.
So, using the conservation of energy, I showed how friction degrades efficiency. And I did it without
memorizing a big equation. The big equation, that shows the efficiency degradation, was derived from
knowing PE = mgh, KE = 1/2 mv^2, and WE = Fd and these are fundamental equations all physics
students need to know.
Let's go back to TE = KE + PE + WE for a moment. This is just a conceptual equation to show the various
kinds of energy that could make up a system's total energy. We saw that, due to physical conditions,

some of these terms may be zero (like TE = PE or TE = KE with the other terms zero).
But we did not mention that one or more of each term may in fact be multiple terms. For example,
suppose we have a human cannonball lying in the cannor ready to be fired. What's the total energy TE?
Well, nothing's moving; so KE = 0. And no work is being done on or by the human cannonball; so WE = 0.
That leaves us with TE = PE in concept.
But wait a minute...there is PE in the compressed spring that will launch the cannonball and there is PE in
the fact that the human is h distance above ground level while lying inside the barrel. Thus we have TE =
PE = PE(S) + PE(h); where PE(S) = k delX^2 which is the work done by the spring when decompressed
from a delX compression. And PE = mgh; where m is the mass of the human cannonball and h is her
height above the ground whill resting on the spring.
In other words, there are two PE's that can be converted into kinetic energy or work energy somewhere
along the trajectory of the human cannonball. And there might be more than one friction to expend WE.
For example, friction along the barrel and air friction (drag) during flight are distinct possibilities.
Bottom line...learn the physics, not the equations. If you learn the physics, the equations will take care of
themselves.