At the top of a giant swing on the gymnastics high bar, Candy’s velocity is 1 m/s, and she is 3.5m high. If Candy’s mass is 50kg, what is her total mechanical energy at this instant?
[tex] \huge\color{pink}{ \colorbox{cyan}{\colorbox{gray} {Answer:}}}[/tex]
The total mechanical energy is the sum of the kinetic energy and the gravitational potential energy:
- [tex]E=K+U= \frac{1}{2}mv^2 +mgh[/tex]
where m=3.5 kg is Candy’s mass, v=1 m/s is her velocity and h=3.5 m is her height. If we replace these numbers, we find the mechanical energy of the system:
- [tex]E= \frac{1}{2} (50 kg)(1m/s)^2 + (50 kg)(9.81 m/s^2)(3.5 m)=1742 J =1.74 kJ[/tex]
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