Question

Why is there more work done climbing a 5m ladder than a 3m ladder in physics?

a) Climbing height does not affect the work done
b) Work done is the same regardless of the ladder height
c) Work done is directly proportional to the height climbed
d) More gravitational potential energy is overcome in climbing a higher ladder

Answer 1

d) More gravitational potential energy is overcome in climbing a higher ladder

Step-by-step explanation:

for any given mass (m), the potential energy is equal to mg∆h (The ∆ only means change in h). So, since the mass will remain constant for any given object, and g the gravitational constant on earth will remain constant, the only factor affecting the potential energy is h, the height. Meaning as the height increases, so does the potential energy, meaning more work has to be done to overcome that increased gravitational energy.

To summarize: In this case, more height means more potential energy. And more potential energy means more work to overcome said energy. So the higher the ladder, the more work done to overcome the gravitational energy. Meaning the answer is D.

Answer 2

The work done in climbing a ladder is directly proportional to the height climbed, so climbing a 5m ladder involves more work than climbing a 3m ladder because more gravitational potential energy is overcome.

Step-by-step explanation:

In physics, the amount of work done in climbing a ladder is related to the force applied and the distance over which that force is applied. When we calculate work done against gravity (which is the force we're overcoming while climbing), we use the formula w = m × g × h, where w is work, m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height. Thus, if two ladders are climbed with the same mass, the work done on the 5m ladder would be greater than on the 3m ladder simply because the height (h) is greater, and work done is directly proportional to the height climbed. This also means that more gravitational potential energy is overcome in climbing a higher ladder, thereby increasing the work done.