38.  The skateboarder in the drawing starts down the left side of the ramp with an initial speed of 5.4 m/s. Neglect nonconservative forces, such as friction and air resistance, and find the height h of the highest point reached by the skateboarder on the right side of the ramp.

 

Since we are ignoring non-conservative forces then mechanical energy must be conserved.

 

 

Assume the zero of gravitational potential energy is at the initial height.  We also know the height the skateboarder reaches is the height at which the skateboarder’s speed has gone to zero.

Therefore we have the following relationship

 

Solving for hafter

 

 

 

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This page last updated on January 11, 2020