Question

How many joules of gravitational potential energy are stored in an object that has a mass of 8.5 kilograms and is held 2 meters above the surface of earth?

Answer 1

I believe the answer is 166.6 Joules or (if rounding to the nearest whole number) 167 Joules.

Explanation:

Here is the formula to find the gravitational potential energy of an object:

U = m * g * h (potential energy equals mass times gravitational acceleration * the height)

The mass is 8.5 kilograms, the height is 2 meters, and Earth's gravitational acceleration is always, no matter the other values or earthly situations, 9.8 m/s.

Now we solve:

8.5 * 9.8 * 2 = 166.6 which is rounded to 167 Joules.