Question

Daphne is a pilot for a package delivery service. As her plane takes off and travels away from the Earth’s surface, its gravitational potential energy increases. Which three factors affect the plane’s gravitational potential energy?

Answer 1

The gravitational potential energy of a plane increases as it takes off due to a change in three factors: the plane's mass, the height above Earth, and the acceleration due to gravity.

Step-by-step explanation:

The gravitational potential energy (GPE) of a plane increases as it takes off and moves away from the Earth's surface. The three factors that affect the plane's GPE are:

• The mass of the object (m), which in this case is the plane's mass.
• The height (h) of the object above the reference point, which is the Earth's surface or another chosen level.
• The acceleration due to gravity (g), which is the rate of acceleration due to Earth's gravitational pull.

The equation to calculate the change in GPE is ΔPEG = mgh, where m is the mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height increase. As a plane takes off, its GPE increases because the height h is increased while the mass m and acceleration due to gravity g remain constant or change according to the altitude.

Answer 2

its height relative to some reference point, its mass, and the strength of the gravitational field

Step-by-step explanation:

Gravitational energy is the potential energy associated with gravitational force, such as elevating objects against the Earth’s gravity. The potential energy due to elevated positions is called gravitational potential energy.

The factors that affect an object’s gravitational potential energy are the following; its height relative to some reference point, its mass, and the strength of the gravitational field it is in. For instance, consider a wallet lying on a table, it has less gravitational potential energy than the same wallet lying on top of a taller cupboard, and yet lesser gravitational potential energy than a heavier wallet lying on the same table.

If an object lies at a certain height above the Moon’s surface, it has less gravitational potential energy than the same object lying at the same height above the Earth’s surface because the Moon’s gravitational force is weaker.