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Potential Energy

The document contains 10 problems involving calculations of potential energy (PE) using the formula PE=mgh, where m is mass, g is gravitational acceleration (9.8 m/s^2), and h is height. The problems involve calculating height, mass, or potential energy given values for two of the three variables. Sample solutions show substituting known values into the PE formula and solving for the unknown variable.

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Jerald Comon
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
1K views

Potential Energy

The document contains 10 problems involving calculations of potential energy (PE) using the formula PE=mgh, where m is mass, g is gravitational acceleration (9.8 m/s^2), and h is height. The problems involve calculating height, mass, or potential energy given values for two of the three variables. Sample solutions show substituting known values into the PE formula and solving for the unknown variable.

Uploaded by

Jerald Comon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.A box has a mass of 5.8kg. The box is lifted from the garage floor and placed on a shelf.

If
the box gains 145J of Potential Energy (Ep), how high is the shelf?

Solution: Use Ep = potential energy (Joules) Ep = mgh m = mass of box (kg) g = gravitational
field strength (N/kg) h = difference in height (m) rearrange equation to find height ! h = Ep
mg = 145 5.8x10 = 145 58 = 2.5 The shelf is 2.5m high

2.A man climbs on to a wall that is 3.6m high and gains 2268J of potential energy. What is
the mass of the man?

Solution: Use: Ep = mgh Rearrange to get an equation for m. ! m= Ep gh = 2268 10x3.6 =


2268 36 = 63 So the mass of the man is 63kg.

3. A 800g ball is pulled up a slope as shown in the diagram. Calculate the potential energy it
gains. 50cm 20cm

Solution: In potential energy problems we are only interested in vertical distances Use Ep
= mgh, h = 20cm = 0.2m m = 800g = 0.8kg so Ep = 0.8 x 10 x 0.2 = 1.6J remember to change
units! The ball gains 1.6J of potential energy

4. An object of mass 30 kgs is placed on a hill top of height 80m. What is the potential
energy possessed by the object?

Solution:
Substituting the values in the formula,
PE = m x g x h = 30 x 9.8 x 80 = 23520 J
5. A fruit hangs from a tree and is about to fall to the ground of 10 meters height. It has a
potential energy of 22.5 J. Calculate the mass of the fruit

Solution:
Substitute the values using the given formula, M = PE / (g x h) = 22.5 / (9.8 x 10) =
0.229 kg
Therefore, the value of Mass is 0.229 kg

6. A 5 kg weighing cat climbing at the top of the tree has a potential energy of 1176 kg. Find
the height of the tree?

Solution:
Substitute the values using the given formula, H = PE / (m x g) = 1176 / (9.8 x 5) = 24
cm
7. A ball of mass 2 Kg is kept on the hill of height 3Km. Calculate the potential energy
possessed by it?
Solution:
Mass of the body (m) = 2kg,
Height (h) = 3 Km,
Potential Energy possessed by the body = m ×× g ×× h
Where g = 9.8 m/s2
∴∴ Potential Energy = 2 kg ×× 9.8 m/s2 ×× 3 ×× 103 m
= 6000 Kgm ×× 9.8 m/s2
= 58800 Nm
= 58800 J.
8. A boy is carrying a bucket of water of mass 5 Kg. If he does 500 J of work, to what height
will he raise it?
Solution:

Mass of the water = m = 5Kg,


Potential energy P.E = 500 J,
Height h =?
Potential energy P.E = mgh
Height h = P.E/mg
= 500/(5×9.8)
= 10.2 m.

9. A cart is loaded with a brick and pulled at constant speed along an inclined plane to the
height of a seat-top. If the mass of the loaded cart is 3.0 kg and the height of the seat top is
0.45 meters, then what is the potential energy of the loaded cart at the height of the seat-
top?
Solution
PE = m*g*h
PE = (3 kg ) * (9.8 m/s/s) * (0.45 m)
PE = 13.2 J
10. A fruit hangs from a tree. The fruit is a quarter of a kilogram and is about to fall to the
ground. If the fruit is 10 meters from the ground, how much potential energy does it
possess?

Solutions:
PE = mgh
PE = (0.25 kg) (9.8 m/s2) (10 m)
PE = 24.5 J

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