Question

Jodie is riding her bicycle around town. At the top of a certain hill, she has J of kinetic energy and J of gravitational potential energy. Ignoring friction, how μch total energy will Jodie have when she is at the bottom of the hill?

a) J + J
b) J - J
c) J × J
d) J / J

Answer 1

Jodie's total energy at the bottom of the hill will be the sum of her initial kinetic and gravitational potential energy, which is J + J, due to the conservation of mechanical energy.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Jodie is at the top of a hill, she has a certain amount of gravitational potential energy (denoted as J) and an equal amount of kinetic energy (also denoted as J). According to the Principle of Conservation of Mechanical Energy, in the absence of non-conservative forces such as friction, the total mechanical energy (the sum of kinetic and potential energy) of a system remains constant. Therefore, the difference in her potential energy when moving from the top of the slope to the bottom will be equal to the increase in her kinetic energy.

At the bottom of the hill, Jodie's gravitational potential energy would be zero (if we consider the bottom as the reference point) and all of her initial potential energy would have been converted into kinetic energy. Hence, the total energy she would have at the bottom of the hill will be the sum of her kinetic energy and her potential energy from the top, which remains as J + J. So, the correct answer to the given question is (a) J + J.