Question

the potential energy of an apple is 6.00 joules. the apple is 3.00 meters high. what is the mass of the apple?

Answer 1

The gravitational potential energy of an object is given by

`U=mgh`
where m is the mass, g the gravitational acceleration and h the height with respect to a reference point.

Here we know the potential energy of the apple, U=6.0 J, its height, h=3.00 m, and
`g=9.81 m/s^2`, so we can find the mass of the apple by re-arranging the formula:

`m= (U)/(gh)= (6 J)/((9.81 m/s^2)(3 m))=0.20 kg`