31. A 0.60-kg basketball is dropped out of a window that is 6.1 m above the ground. The ball is caught by a person whose hands are 1.5 m above the ground. (a) How much work is done on the ball by its weight? What is the gravitational potential energy of the basketball, relative to the ground, when it is (b) released and (c) caught? (d) How is the change (PEf - PE0) in the ball’s gravitational potential energy related to the work done by its weight?

Work done by gravity is

Remember gravity points down and the displacement is also down, so the angle between them is 0° and the cos(0°) = 1.

 

 

Gravitational Potential Energy relative to the ground is found from

 

So at the release point

 

 

at the release point

 

 

Change in Gravitational potential energy is

 

 

So we see the work done by gravity is the negative of the change of gravitational potential energy.

 

 

 

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This page last updated on January 11, 2020