GPE and KE

LO:
• State what is meant by GPE and KE
• Describe the relationship between GPE and KE
• Calculate GPE and KE

Think, pair, share – Take 1 minute to write down

what you can remember from the last 2 lessons.
Then take 1 minute as a pair, add to your sheet.
Then finally spend 1 minute asking anyone else in
the room!
 • When you lift an object up, energy is
transferred from your muscles in to
gravitational potential energy of the object.

Gravitational potential energy (GPE) is energy stored in

an object because of its position in the earths
gravitational field.
• Which books have GPE?
• Which book has the most GPE?
• Which book has the least GPE?
What do you think GPE would depend on?

• The amount of
gravitational
potential energy an
object on Earth has
depends on its:
• Mass
• Height above the
ground
Equation time!!!!!

• mass x gravitational field x change in height

strength

• What are the units?

• So change in GPE (Joules)
• mass (kg)
• change in height (m)
• gravitational field strength (N/kg)
So change in GPE =
mass x gravitational field x change in height
strength
Miss Singleton has a mass of 72kg. Calculate her
GPE just before she jumps of a 15m Waterfall?

Gravitational field
strength on earth=
10N/Kg

=72kg x 10N/kg x 15m

=10,800J
Let’s think a little bigger
mass x gravitational field x change in height
strength
• Calculate change in GPE, when a 3,000kg
aeroplane, takes off up to a height of 500m.

Gravitational field strength

on earth= 10N/Kg

=3,000kg x 10N/kg x500m

=15,000,000J
 Your turn
Woof!
(help!)

A dog of mass 7 kg falls from an aero plane at

a height of 3.4km. (Don’t worry, he has a
parachute!) How much gravitational energy
does the dog have as it leaves the aeroplane?
 On earth g = 10 m/s2

Mass of dog = 7 kg

Height = 3.4 km = 3400 m

 On earth g = 10 m/s2

Mass of dog = 7 kg

GPE of dog = mgh = 7 x 10 x 3400 = 238 000 J

Height = 3.4 km = 3400 m

GPE of dog = mgh = 7 x 10 x 3400 = 238 000 J

Just before the dog hits the

ground, what has this GPE
turned into?
 Complete the questions GPE
1. If Maria lifts a mass of 10 kg onto a table 1.25 m high. How much
G.P.E. has the mass gained?
2. If Sophie climbs a ladder 3.4 m tall, and Sophie has a mass of 48 kg,
how much G.P.E. has she gained?
3. A boulder falls of a cliff 15m high and has a mass of 23kg. What was
it’s GPE at the top?
4. A man of mass 80 kg standing at the top of a tall building has 96000 J
of G.P.E. How tall is the building?
5. A diver stands on a diving board and has a mass of 74kg. He gained
4.5kj of gravitational potential energy when him climbed the board,
how tall is the diving board?
6. A weight lifter does 5kJ of work when lifting masses 1.9m up from
the ground. How much mass can he lift?
 Answers - GPE
1. 10 x 10 x 1.25 = 125J
2. 48 x 10 x 3.4 = 1,632 J
3. 23 x 10 x 15 = 3450 J
4. 96,000 / (80 x 10) = 120m
5. 4500/ (10 x 74) = 6.1m
6. 5000/ (1.9 x 10) = 263 kg
Kinetic energy
Any item that moves has kinetic
energy……
• Kinetic energy is energy an object has due to
it’s motion. When calculating KE we ned 2 bits
of information. Any ideas???

• The objects mass

• The objects speed
• Kinetic energy = ½ x mass x speed 2

• Units of KE= joules

• Mass= kg
• Speed= m/s
• A car with a mass of 500 kg is moving at a
speed of 12 m/s. How much kinetic energy does
it have?
• A car with a mass of 500 kg is moving at a
speed of 12 m/s. How much kinetic energy does
it have?

• ½ x 500 x (122) = 36,000 J

 Kinetic energy questions
1. A dog running across a field at a speed of 1.2m/s with a mass of
3.2kg.
2. Miss Singleton sprints after her cat 5.3m/s and has a mass of 72kg.
3. A tennis ball with mass 400g was served at a speed of 35m/s,
calculate it’s kinetic energy.
4. A rugby ball with mass 550g was passed across a pitch with a
velocity of 12m/s, how much kinetic energy did it have?
 Kinetic energy questions
1. A dog running across a field at a speed of 1.2m/s with a mass of 3.2kg.
2.3 J
2. Miss Singleton sprints after her cat 5.3m/s and has a mass of 72kg.
1011 J
3. A tennis ball with mass 400g was served at a speed of 35m/s, calculate it’s
kinetic energy. 245 J
4. A rugby ball with mass 550g was passed across a pitch with a velocity of
12m/s, how much kinetic energy did it have? 39.6 J
 Kinetic energy questions
These are the tricky ones – if you can do these then you really
know what you’re doing.
Calculating velocity: DO NOT REARRAGNE ALL AT ONCE –
REMEMBER V2 = (2 X Kinetic energy) / mass

Eg

1.Bus travelling through town, with a

mass of 5040kg and kinetic energy of
493,900J.
V2 = ( 2 x 493,900 ) / 5040 = 195.99 =
196 so V = √ 196 = 13.99 or 14 m/s
 Kinetic energy questions
These are the tricky ones – if you can do these then you really
know what you’re doing.
Calculating velocity: DO NOT REARRAGNE ALL AT ONCE –
REMEMBER V2 = (2 X Kinetic energy) / mass

Your Turn

1. A lift travelling up to the top floor of the Empire

State building with a mass of 4200kg and a kinetic
energy of 4116J.
2. Bird flying towards its nest with a mass of 0.25kg
and a kinetic energy of 40.5J.
3. A Wii remote flung from a hand through a TV, with
a kinetic energy of 1440J and a mass of 4.5kg.
 Kinetic energy questions
These are the tricky ones – if you can do these then you really
know what you’re doing.
Calculating velocity: DO NOT REARRAGNE ALL AT ONCE –
REMEMBER V2 = (2 X Kinetic energy) / mass

Your Turn

1. V2 = ( 2 x 4116 ) / 4200= 1.96 so V = √ 1.96

=1.4 m/s

2. V2 = ( 2 x 40.5 ) / 0.25 = 324 so V = √ 324=

18m/s

3. V2 = ( 2 x 1440) / 4.5 = 640 so V = √ 640 =

25.3m/s
 GPE to Kinetic
Consider a roller coaster.

At the top, it has

Gravitational Potential
Energy.

The GPE is stored

because of its height.

It is energy waiting to be
used for motion (KE). thecoastercritic.com
 GPE to Kinetic

As the roller coaster

moves toward the
bottom, kinetic energy
increases along with
the rollercoaster’s
velocity….. What
happens to the GPE
stores?
thecoastercritic.com
 GPE increases

GPE decreases
Kinetic energy
increases
 GPE to Kinetic
Watch this roller coaster.
The total energy never changes, it
just goes from potential to kinetic
and back again.
• Assuming that all the gravitational potential
energy of a falling object is transferred to
kinetic energy:
• GPE = KE
• Miss Singleton climbs to the top of a 15 m cliff
and has a mass of 72kg. How much GPE does
she have?
• Ignoring air resistance, how much Kinetic
energy does she have at the bottom?
• How fast was she going just before she
splashed into the water?
• Miss Singleton climbs to the top of a 15 m cliff
and has a mass of 72kg. How much GPE does
she have?
• Ignoring air resistance, how much Kinetic
energy does she have at the bottom?
• How fast was she going just before she
splashed into the water?
• GPE = m x g x h = 72 x 10 x 15 = 10,800J
• KE at the bottom = 10,800J
• V2 = ( 2 x 10,800) / 72 = 300 so V = √ 300 =
17.32 m/s
Your turn:
1. A diver of mass 64kg climbs a diving board of 6.2m.
• How much GPE does he have at the top?
• What is his speed just before he hits the water?
2. A boulder sits on the cliff edge 30m up, it has a mass
of 34kg, it falls and splashes into the water below.
• How much GPE does the boulder have at the top?
• What is the speed of the boulder just before he hits
the water?
Your turn:
1. A diver of mass 64kg climbs a diving board of 6.2m.
• 64 x 6.2 x 10 = 3968 J
• KE at bottom = 3968J
• V2 = ( 2 x 3968) / 64 = 124 so V = √ 124 = 11.1 m/s
• 2. A boulder sits on the cliff edge 30m up, it has a
mass of 34kg, it falls and splashes into the water
below.
• 34 X 10 X 30 = 10,200 J
• KE at the bottom = 10,200 J
• V2 = ( 2 x 10,200) / 34 = 600 so V = √ 600 = 24.5
m/s
Let’s go the other way…. KE to GPE..
• These generally involved firing or throwing
things up into the air and the end goal is to
find out how high they have gone!
• Eg A bow can shoot a 0.04kg arrow at a speed
of 16.5m/s. What is the kinetic energy of the
arrow?
• Assuming it travels straight up in the air, how
much GPE does it have at the top and how
high does it go?
Let’s go the other way…. KE to GPE..
• Eg A bow can shoot a 0.04kg arrow at a speed
of 16.5m/s. What is the kinetic energy of the
arrow?
• KE = ½ mass x speed2 = 0.5 x 0.04 x 16.52 =
5.45J
• Assuming it travels straight up in the sir, how
much GPE does it have at the top and how
high does it go? GPE TOP = 5.45J
• h = GPE / (m x g) = 5.45 (10 x 0.04) = 13.6m
Your turn
• A cricket ball is thrown in the air at a speed of
15 m/s. The mass of the ball is 250g
• Calculate the kinetic energy of the ball as it is
thrown.
• What is the gravitational potential energy of
the ball at the top of it’s flight.
• Calculate the height the ball reaches.
Your turn
• A stone is dropped down a well. When it hits
the bottom of the well it is travelling at 20
m/s. The mass of the stone is 0.02 kg.
• Calculate the kinetic energy of the stone as it
hits the bottom of the well.
• What is the gravitational potential energy of
the stone at the top of the well?
• Calculate the height of the well.