Question

Susan is changing her car tire on the top of a 20 meter tall hill. She accidentally lets go of the tire and it starts to roll down. a) How much potential energy does the tire have at the top of the hill? (use m as the mass of the tire)

Answer 1

a) In order to determine the potential energy, use the following formula:

U = m*g*h

where,

m: mass of the tire

h: height of the hill = 20m

g: gravitational acceleration constant = 9.8 m/s^2

Replace the previous values of the parameters into the formula for U:

U = m(9.8 m/s^2)(20 m) = m(196 m^2/s^2)

after replacing the value of m in kilograms you obtain joules units.