Question

What is the gravitational potential energy of a `12 kg` object on a shelf `7/8 m` high?

Answer 1

`102.9 \ "J"`

Explanation:

Gravitational potential energy is expressed through the equation,

`"GPE"=mgh`

• `m` is the mass of the object in kilograms

• `g` is the gravitational acceleration, which is around `9.8 \ "m/s"^2`

• `h` is the height of the object in meters

So, plugging in our given values, we get

`"GPE"=12 \ "kg"*9.8 \ "m/s"^2*7/8 \ "m"`

`=102.9 \ "kg m"^2"/s"^2`

We know that `1 \ "kg m"^2"/s"^2=1 \ "J"`, and so we got

`=102.9 \ "J"`