If the mass of an object is halved, how does its gravitational potential energy
Practice Questions
Q1
If the mass of an object is halved, how does its gravitational potential energy change at a constant height?
It doubles
It halves
It remains the same
It becomes zero
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the mass of an object is halved, how does its gravitational potential energy change at a constant height?
Step 1: Understand the formula for gravitational potential energy, which is U = mgh.
Step 2: Identify the variables in the formula: U is gravitational potential energy, m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is height.
Step 3: Note that g and h are constant in this scenario, meaning they do not change.
Step 4: If the mass (m) is halved, we can represent the new mass as m/2.
Step 5: Substitute the new mass into the formula: U = (m/2)gh.
Step 6: Simplify the equation: U = (1/2)(mgh).
Step 7: This shows that the new gravitational potential energy is half of the original potential energy.
Gravitational Potential Energy – Gravitational potential energy (U) is calculated using the formula U = mgh, where m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is height. It shows that potential energy is directly proportional to mass.
