Question

A roller coaster has 50 J of KE at the bottom of the hill. How much PE did the roller coaster have at the top of the hill?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation: The energy is neither gained nor lost, only transformed from kinetic energy to potential energy and vice versa.The conservation of mechanical energy by the coaster car in the above animation can be studied using a calculator. At each point in the ride, the kinetic and potential energies can be calculated using the following equations.

KE = 0.5 * mass * (speed)^2 PE = mass * g * height

If the acceleration of gravity value of 9.8 m/s/s is used along with an estimated mass of the coaster car (say 500 kg), the kinetic energy and potential energy and total mechanical energy can be determined. What value do you find for the total mechanical energy of the car at any point along the track?