Question

Determine the change in gravitational potential energy of a falling 10 kg rock that was 100 m above the earth’s surface and is now 70 m above the earth’s surface.

Answer 1

The change in gravitational potential energy of a 10 kg rock falling from 100 m to 70 m above the Earth's surface is 2,943 joules.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the change in gravitational potential energy of a falling rock, we can use the formula ΔPE = mgh, where 'm' stands for mass, 'g' is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.81 m/s² on Earth's surface), and 'h' is the change in height. For a 10 kg rock that falls from 100 m to 70 m above the Earth’s surface, the change in height (Δh) is 100 m - 70 m = 30 m.

Now plug the given values into the formula:

ΔPE = mgh
ΔPE = (10 kg) (9.81 m/s²) (30 m)
ΔPE = 2,943 J

Therefore, the change in gravitational potential energy of the rock is 2,943 joules.

The change in gravitational potential energy of the falling 10 kg rock can be calculated using the formula Mgh, where M is the mass of the rock, g is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s²), and h is the change in height. In this case, the change in height is 100 m - 70 m = 30 m.

So the change in gravitational potential energy is calculated as:

(10 kg) (9.8 m/s²) (30 m) = 2940 J.