Question

A 300kg pig is standing at the top of the hill. The hill is 200m long with a vertical drop of 25m. The pig slips and begins to slide down the hill. What is the pig's speed at the bottom of the hill?

Answer 1

`22.1m\/s`

Step-by-step explanation

Mass of the pig, m = 300 kg

Length of the hill = 200 m

Vertical drop of the hill, h = 25 m

To find the speed of the pig at the bottom of the hill, we apply the conservation of energy. At the start of the drop, the pig only has potential energy while at the end, it only has kinetic energy.

Hence, apply the law of conservation of energy:

`\begin{gathered} E_{\text{initial}}=E_{\text{final}} \\ \Rightarrow mgh=(1)/(2)mv^2 \end{gathered}`

where g = acceleration due to gravity

Substitute the given values into the equation and solve for speed, v:

`\begin{gathered} v^2=2gh \\ \Rightarrow v=\sqrt[]{2gh} \\ v=\sqrt[]{2\cdot9.8\cdot25} \\ v=\sqrt[]{490} \\ v=22.1m\/s \end{gathered}`

That is the speed of the pig at the bottom of the hill.