Question

A Cart at the top of a 300m hill has a mass of 40kg. what is the carts gravitational potential energy?

Answer 1

g.p.e = mgh
m for mass = 40 kg
g for gravitational field strength = 10 N/kg
h for height = 300m

Plug them in:
g.p.e = 40 × 10 × 300
= 120000 J
In terms of kilo joule:
1 kJ = 1000 J
so 120000 J = 120 kJ

Answer 2

The cart gravitational potential energy is 117,600 Joule

Explanation:

First lets define what a gravitational potential energy is.

A gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object that rise above a certain height surface.

The formula for calculating the gravitational potential energy(P.E) is m×g×h, where m is the mass of the object measured in kilograms(kg), g is the acceleration due to gravity measured in *(m/s²). It is a constant and always equal to 9.8 m/s² on the earth surface and h is the height of the object above the surface in (m).

The gravitational potential energy is measured in Joules(J).

From the question, mass(m) is given as 40 kg and the height(h) is 300m

and g=9.8m/s²

Gravitational Potential Energy(P.E) = m×g×h

=40 ×9.8 ×300

=117,600 Joules.

Therefore the cart gravitational potential energy is 117,600 Joules.