Final answer:
To calculate the work needed to stack the books, we can use the formula mgh, where m is the mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height. The potential energy gained as each book is lifted to the height of the previous book represents the work done. By multiplying the potential energy for one book by the number of books, we can find the total work needed to stack them.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order to calculate the amount of work needed to stack the books one on top of another, we need to consider the potential energy gained as each book is lifted to the height of the previous book. The work done is equal to the change in potential energy. Since each book is 4.3 cm thick and 1.7 g in mass, we can calculate the potential energy for each book using the formula mgh, where m is the mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height. Once we find the potential energy for one book, we can simply multiply it by the number of books to find the total work needed to stack them.