Question

You move a 2.5 kg book from a shelf that is 1.2 m above the ground to a shelf that is 2.6 m above the ground. What is the change in potential energy of a system containing the book and Earth?

Answer 1

The change in potential energy of an object is given by

`U=mg \Delta h`
where
m is the mass of the object
g is the gravitational acceleration

`\delta h` is the increase in altitude of the object

In our problem,
`m=2.5 kg` is the mass of the book,
`g=9.81 m/s^2` and

`\Delta h=2.6 m -1.2 m=1.4 m` is the increase in altitude of the book, so its variation of potential energy is

`U=mg\Delta h=(2.5 kg)(9.81 m/s^2)(1.4 m)=34.3 J`