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Calculate Gravitational Potential Energy?

A miner of mass 90kg travels down the slide.

Calculate the change in gravitational potential energy of the miner when he moves 15m vertically downwards.

Gravitational field strength = 10 N/kg

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Can anyone please help me? I am just a beginner with Physics =(

Also, what is N/kg? Does it mean Newtons / kg?

Update:

@Fred - Can you explain a little better please? =\

3 Answers

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  • Fred
    Lv 7
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    PE=mgh

  • 8 years ago

    GPE = mgh; where m = 90 kg (kilogram ~ 1000 grams), h = 15 m (meters) height above the zero point, and g ~ 10 N/kg (Newtons/kilogram, which is also the same as meters/second squared...acceleration).

    Potential energy is stored energy, ready to be used for work or causing a change when the time comes. So by being 15 m up above the ground (the zero point), we could put that stored energy to work by dropping the mass and letting it pick up speed, And that increase in speed is an increase in kinetic (motion) energy. But as the kinetic energy increases, you will soon learn, the stored potential energy must decrease to keep the total energy at the same level.

    So by lowering the height from h = 15 m to h = 0, the GPE goes from GPE0 = mgh = 90*10*15 = 13500

    to GPE1 = mgh = 90*10*0 = 0. So the change is GPE is GPE1 - GPE0 = 0 - 13500 = - 13500 Joules. ANS.

    Note the minus sign means a loss of GPE, and we know that most likely went into kinetic energy as the mass fell from h = 15 m.

  • kianes
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    First of all, W is work, no longer weight. F is the drive in newtons, d is the distance.. Which on this case is the height.. The system u quite need for this is: gravitaitonal advantage vigour = mgh the place m is the mass of the article, g is acceleration due to gravity (thats 9.81 m/s^2 on the planet), and h is the height of the object relative to the bottom. If we plug within the number into this, we get 25 kg x 9.Eight m/s^2 x four.00 m, which is 981 J. So the gravitational potential energy is 981 J. The system i just gave u is situated on Ep = Fd, however in the system above F is solely increased into m*g. Recollect, drive is mass occasions acceleration, and the mass on this case is the mass of the item, and the acceleration is the acceleration of the item because of gravity. Hope that helped !

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