Question

Betty weighs 420 n and she is sitting on a playground swing seat that hangs 0.40 m above the ground. tom pulls the swing back and releases it from rest when the seat is 1.0 m above the ground. how fast is betty moving when the swing passes through its lowest position

Answer 1

Weight = mass * gravity
420 = mass * 9.8
mass of Betty = 42.857 kg

Difference in height = 1 - 0.45 = 0.55 meters

Total energy = Kinetic energy + potential energy

At the highest point, the kinetic energy is zero while the potential energy is maximum, therefore, we can get the total energy as follows:
Total energy = 0 + mgh
Total energy = 42.857*9.8*0.55 = 231 Joules

At the lowest point, the potential energy is zero while the kinetic energy is maximum. Therefore:
Total energy = 0.5 * m * (v)^2 + 0
231 = 0.5 * (42.857) * (velocity)^2
(velocity)^2 = 10.78
velocity = 3.28 meters/sec