Question

Based on the Law of Conservation of Energy, if a person dives off of a cliff with 10,000 Joules of Potential Energy and 0 Joules of Kinetic Energy, how much of each energy type will they have 1/2 of the way down to the ground?

A) 5,000 Joules of Potential Energy and 5,000 Joules of Kinetic Energy.
B) 0 Joules of Potential Energy and 10,000 Joules of Kinetic Energy.
C) 10,000 Joules of Potential Energy and 0 Joules of Kinetic Energy.
D) 7,500 Joules of Potential Energy and 2,500 Joules of Kinetic Energy.

Answer 1

Halfway down the cliff, the diver would have 5,000 Joules of Potential Energy and 5,000 Joules of Kinetic Energy, according to the Law of Conservation of Energy.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. In the case of a person diving off a cliff, the total mechanical energy remains constant if we neglect air resistance. At the top of the cliff, the diver has potential energy but no kinetic energy. As the diver falls, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Halfway down, the diver has fallen through half the distance, so the potential energy is halved. Since no external work is done on the system (ignoring air resistance), the conversion would be such that the remaining energy would be kinetic energy. Therefore, the diver would have 5,000 Joules of Potential Energy and 5,000 Joules of Kinetic Energy halfway down the cliff, which corresponds to option A.