Question

The potential energy of an apple is \[6\] joules. The apple is \[3\] meters high. What is the mass of the apple?

Answer 1

Hint: The energy possessed by a body or system by virtue of its position or configuration is understood as P.E. . There are two sorts of P.E. - gravitational P.E. and elastic potential energy. P.E. gained by an object is given by \[mgh\] . Elastic P.E. is that the energy stored in objects which will be compressed or stretched.

Formula used:
Potential energy of a body is given by,
\[P.E = mgh\]
Where \[m\] is the mass of the object, \[h\] is the height of the object from the ground and \[g\] is the acceleration due to gravity.

Complete step by step answer:
We are given, the potential energy of an apple is \[6\] joules. The height of the apple is \[3\] meters. Now, we'd like to seek out the mass of the apple. Potential energy is the energy possessed by a body or system by virtue of its position or configuration is known as the potential energy. The Potential energy of a body is given by,
\[P.E = mgh\]

Substituting \[P.E = 6{\text{ }}J\] , and \[h = 3{\text{ m}}\] in the equation we get
\[6 = 3mg\]
\[ \Rightarrow m = \dfrac{6}{{3g}}\]
But \[g = 9.8{\text{ m/}}{{\text{s}}^2}\]
Substituting the value in the equation
\[ \Rightarrow m = \dfrac{2}{{9.8}}\]
\[\therefore m = 0.204{\text{ kg}}\]

Thus, the mass of the apple is \[m = 0.204{\text{ kg}}\].

Note: It's important to remember that gravitational energy is determined by the difference between the object's beginning and final heights, not by the distance traveled. As a result, the path taken by the object to achieve its current height is ignored. Regarding the potential energy, it is important to note that it is defined for a conservative force field only.For non-conservative forces, it has no meaning.