Question

Calculate the potential energy of a 6.3 kg eagle flying at a height of 75 m

Answer 1

Answers:

According to the principle of energy conservation, the energy is not created, nor destroyed, it is transformed.

Here, we are talking about Mechanical Energy (
`M`) which is the addition of the Kinetic Energy
`K` (energy of the body in motion) and Potential Energy
`P` (It can be Gravitational Potential Energy or Elastic Potential Energy, in this case is the first one):

`M=K+P` (1)

The units in which the mechanical energy is expressed is Newton*meter (
`Nm`)

So, for this problem we are asked to find only the Potential Gravitational Energy of the eagle. This is mathematically expressed as:

`P=mgh` (2)

Where:

`m=6.3kg` is the mass of the eagle

`g=9.8(m)/(s^(2))` is the gravity acceleration

`h=75m` is the height at which the eagle is flying

Now, to solve this problem we have to substitute the values in equation (2):

`P=(6.3kg)( 9.8(m)/(s^(2)))(75m)`

`P=4630.5kg(m)/(s^(2))m`

Note that
`1N=1kg(m)/(s^(2))`

So, the Potential Gravitational Energy of the Eagle is:

`P=4630.5Nm`