2 Mechanics

2.3 Work, energy, and power

Name: ………………………………. Date: ……………………………….

Energy transformations
Ignore air resistance and friction for the following problems.
1 A 3.00 kg rock is dropped from the top of a 12.0 m high cliff. Using the conservation of energy, find the
following.
a The gravitational potential energy at the top of the cliff.
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b The gravitational potential energy after it has fallen 4.00 m.
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c The kinetic energy after it has fallen 4.00 m.
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d The gravitational potential energy after it has fallen 6.00 m.
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e The kinetic energy after it has fallen 6.00 m.
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f The gravitational potential energy just as it hits the ground.
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g The kinetic energy just as it hits the ground.
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2 What do you notice about the sum of the kinetic and gravitational potential energies at heights of 12.0 m,
8.00 m, and 6.00 m in question 1?
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2.3 Work, energy, and power

3 Assuming that all of the elastic potential energy gets transferred to kinetic energy, what speed will a 0.57 kg
ball leave a spring that is compressed 0.13 m? The spring constant is 25 Nm–1.
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4 How much work is done against gravity in lifting a 72 kg mass to 0.65 m?
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5 A 0.88 kg ball is moving at 4.2 ms–1 across a level, frictionless surface when it encounters an incline.
How high above the ground will the ball travel?
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6 A 2.6 kg toy car is rolling down a frictionless incline that makes an angle of 23° with the horizontal.
The initial speed of the car is 4.3 ms–1. What will be the speed of the car 26 m down the incline?
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