Question

A bird carries a 25 g oyster to a height of 11m what is the gravitational potential energy of the oyster

Answer 1

Given data:

Mass of oyster (m) = 25 g,

                              = 0.025 kg            ( since 1 Kg = 1000 g)

Height of oyster (h) = 11 m,

determine gravitational potential energy (GPE) = ?

Gravitational potential energy is energy of an object possesses because of its position on the earth. The amount of gravitational potential energy of an object on earth depends on its mass and height from the earth.  

Mathematically,

        GPE = m. g. h Joules

        Where,

              GPE = gravitational potential energy,

                 m = mass of object in Kg,

                  g = gravitational force in m/s²,     g = 9.8 m/s²

                  h = height of the object in meters,

     Now substituting all the values in the equation GPE

           GPE = 0.025 Kg × 9.8 m/s² × 11 m

                   = 2.695 J

Gravitational potential energy of the oyster is 2.695 J