Question

A girl is shown at position A on a swing when the seat is directly below the support bar. The seat is then at height A as shown by a grey arrow and grey line. When she swings up and to the right to position B when the seat is at height B as shown by a grey arrow and grey line. At which position, A or B, is the potential energy of the swing the greatest? As the swing moves from point B to point A, which form of energy is increasing, kinetic or potential?

Answer 1

b and kinetic

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

• 1. The potential energy of the swing is the greatest at the position B.

• 2. As the swing moves from point B to point A, the kinetic energy is increasing.

Step-by-step explanation:

Even though the syntax of the text is not completely clear, likely because it accompanies a drawing that is not included, it results clear that the posittion A is where the seat is at the lowest position, and the position B is upper.

The gravitational potential energy is directly proportional to the height of the objects with respect to some reference altitude. Thus, when the seat is at the position A the swing has the smallest potential energy and when the seat is at the position B the swing has the greatest potential energy.

Regarding the forms of energy, as the swing moves from point B to point A, it is going downward, gaining kinetic energy (speed) at the expense of the potential energy (losing altitude). When the seat passes by the position A, the kinetic energy is maximum and the potential energy is miminum. Then the seat starts to gain altitude again, losing the kinetic energy and gaining potential energy, up to it gets to the other end,