Question

Consider a system of a cliff diver and the earth. The gravitational potential energy of the system decreases by 26,500 J as the diver drops to the water from a height of 33.0 m. Determine her weight in newtons.

Answer 1

Given data:

* The change in gravitational potential energy is 26500 J.

* The change in height of the diver is 33.0 m.

Solution:

The change in gravitational potential energy in terms of change in height of the diver is,

`dU=mg* dh`

where m is the mass of diver, g is the acceleration due to gravity, dh is the change in height, and dU is the change in gravitational potential energy,

Substituting the known values,

`\begin{gathered} 26500=mg*33 \\ mg=(26500)/(33) \\ mg=803.03\text{ N} \end{gathered}`

The weight of the diver is,

`\begin{gathered} W=mg \\ W=803.03\text{ N} \end{gathered}`

Thus, weight of the diver is 803.03 N.