AP Physics 1 : Gravitational Potential Energy

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Physics 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Gravitational Potential Energy

On the surface of planet Mars, the gravitational constant  is . Considering that earth's gravitational constant is , how high above the surface do you need to be on planet Mars to have the same gravitational potential energy as you would if you were  up on Earth? Assume your mass is unchanged on both planets. 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that the formula for gravitational potential energy is:

To determine the height on planet Mars needed to have equivalent potential energy, we can set the two equations for gravitational potential energies equal. 

, where  is mass and  is height above the ground on Earth while  is the height above the ground on Mars. 

The mass,  can be eliminated from both sides of the equation since they are equal. Plug in and solve for the height on Mars.

 

Example Question #12 : Gravitational Potential Energy

A cat jumps to the top of a wall of height . Determine the cat's initial upward velocity.

Possible Answers:

Cannot be determined without knowing the mass of the cat

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use conservation of energy:

Since initially the cat is on the ground, and can assumed to be still at the top of the wall:

Solve for velocity:

Plugging in values

Example Question #151 : Ap Physics 1

A ball takes  to hit the ground after being dropped from a window. Estimate the height of the window.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Assume a constant acceleration we may use a kinematic formula:

 is the acceleration due to gravity, which is 

, the initial velocity, is zero

 is the unknown

 is the ground, which will be a height of

Plug in values:

Solve for

Example Question #12 : Gravitational Potential Energy

Changing which of the following variables will cause the biggest increase in gravitational potential energy?

Possible Answers:

More than one of these will cause biggest increase

Velocity

Mass of the object

Distance between the two objects

Correct answer:

More than one of these will cause biggest increase

Explanation:

Gravitational potential energy is calculated using the following equation.

Where  is the potential energy,  is the gravitational constant,  is the mass of one object,  is the mass of the other object, and  is the distance between the two objects. Decreasing  and increasing mass of the object by the same factor will have a similar effect on the potential energy (both will increase potential energy by the same factor); therefore, changing both of these variables by same factor will have a similar effect. Recall that the force due to gravity is 

When calculating ,  will have the biggest effect. Don't confuse equation for potential energy with equation for force due to gravity.

Example Question #11 : Gravitational Potential Energy

Planet A is twice as massive as Planet B. Compared to a person standing on Planet A, a person standing on Planet B will have __________ potential energy and __________ mass.

Possible Answers:

the same . . . lower

lower . . . the same

lower . . . lower

the same . . . the same

Correct answer:

lower . . . the same

Explanation:

Potential energy is calculated using the following equation.

Where  is the potential energy,  is the gravitational constant,  is the mass of one object,  is the mass of the other object, and  is the distance between the two objects. The potential energy depends on the mass of the objects (in this case the person and the planet); therefore, the more massive planet will produce the higher potential energy.

The mass is the same regardless of the situation. Mass measures the amount of substance/elements/molecules inside a person or object's body. The composition of the person’s body won’t change (regardless of the mass of the planet); therefore, the mass will stay the same. Recall that the weight of the person, however, does change based on the planet the person is standing on. This is because the weight depends on the gravitational acceleration, which depends on the mass of the planet.

Example Question #111 : Newtonian Mechanics

What is the potential energy of a person standing on the surface of the earth?

Possible Answers:

It depends on how massive the person is

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The potential energy of a person or an object on earth is calculated using the following formula.

Where  is potential energy,  is mass,  is acceleration due to gravity, and  is the height from surface of earth (sea level). The question states that the person is standing on the surface of earth; therefore, . This means that the person has no potential energy.

Recall that kinetic energy, on the other hand, is the energy associated with motion. It depends on the velocity of an object or person. A person on the surface of earth will have kinetic energy if the person is moving.

Example Question #12 : Gravitational Potential Energy

A tennis ball of mass is dropped off a bridge at a height of over an asphalt road. The ball bounces up to a height of . Determine the amount of energy lost to heat.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Definition of work:

Combine equations:

Substitute variables, then plug in and solve for the change in heat.

Example Question #14 : Gravitational Potential Energy

Calculate the velocity a car would need to have at the bottom of a vertical loop of radius 12m to successfully make it through without falling off of the track.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

At the top of the loop, the centripetal acceleration will need to be at least the acceleration due to gravity:

Solve for

The radius of the circle will be half the height:

Use conservation of energy:

Solve for :

Combine equations:

Plug in values:

Example Question #12 : Gravitational Potential Energy

Consider the following system:

 

Spinning rod with masses at end

Two spherical masses, A and B, are attached to the end of a rigid rod with length l. The rod is attached to a fixed point, p, which is at the midpoint between the masses and is at a height, h, above the ground. The rod spins around the fixed point in a vertical circle that is traced in grey.  is the angle at which the rod makes with the horizontal at any given time ( in the figure).

If  (rotated counter clockwise compared to figure), what is the difference of gravitational potential energy of mass A compared to mass B?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to solve this problem, we will be using the expression for gravitational potential energy:

Writing this out for each mass, we get:

We are looking for the difference between potential energy, so we can write:

We know both masses and g, so we just need to determine the height of each to solve this problem. The statement states that , and according to the law of alternate angles, we know that the angle between mass B and horizontal is also . With this and the fact that point p is at the midpoint between masses, we know that the vertical distance between mass A and horizontal is the same as mass B and horizontal, just in opposite directions. Imagine mass A, the horizontal, and point p create a right triangle. We can then write:

Where d is the vertical distance of each mass from the horizontal. From the statement, we know that mass A is below the horizontal, and mass B is above; Thus, we can write:

Substituting these into our equation for difference in potential energy, we get:

We now have an equation we can plug and chug (you can definitely keep reducing it, but it's more work than needed. See the final equation at the end of this solution to see what you would have if interested).

Do a quick unit check to make sure we end up with joules.

Now to plug and chug:

Example Question #14 : Gravitational Potential Energy

Consider the following system:

 

Spinning rod with masses at end

Two spherical masses, A and B, are attached to the end of a rigid rod with length l. The rod is attached to a fixed point, p, which is at the midpoint between the masses and is at a height, h, above the ground. The rod spins around the fixed point in a vertical circle that is traced in grey.  is the angle at which the rod makes with the horizontal at any given time ( in the figure).

The rod is in it's vertical position (mass A is at the top, mass B is at the bottom). If mass A has twice as much gravitational potential energy as mass B, what is h?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We will only use the expression for gravitational potential energy to solve this problem:

Written out for each mass:

We are asked to find at which point does mass A have twice as much gravitational potential energy as mass B:

Now we need to determine the heights of each mass which are the height given in the problem +/- half the length of the rod:

Plugging these into our expression, we get:

We know all the values in this expression, so we just need to isolate h:

Expanding both sides:

Rearranging to get h on the same side:

Factoring out h and rearranging:

This is our final equation, time to plug and chug:

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