Question

A worker assigned to the restoration of the Washington Monument is checking the condition of the stone at the very top of the monument. A nickel with a mass of 0.005 kg is in her shirt pocket. What is the gravitational potential energy (GPE) of the nickel at the top of the monument?

Answer 1

Answer:

GPE ≈ 8.3 J

Explanation:

m = 0.005 kg

g = 9.80 m/s2

h = 169.164 m

GPE =?

GPE = mgh

GPE = (0.005 kg)(9.8 m/s2)(169.164 m)

GPE = 8.289 (kg)(m/s2)(m)

GPE = 8.289 (kg)(m2/s2)

GPE = 8.289 J

GPE ≈ 8.3 J  

Answer 2

Answer:

The gravitational potential energy of the nickel at the top of the monument is 8.29 J.

Explanation:

We can find the gravitational potential energy using the following  formula.

$GPE=mgh$

Identifying given information.

The nickel has a mass $m=0.005 \,kg$, and it is a the top of Washington Monument.

The Washington Monument has a height of $h=555 \, ft$, thus we need to find the equivalence in meters using unit conversion in  order to find the gravitational potential energy.

Converting from feet to meters.

Using the conversion factor 1 m = 3.28 ft, we have

$h = 555 \, ft \times \cfrac{1 \, m}{3.28 \, ft}$

That give u s

$h = 169.2 \, m$

Finding Gravitational Potential Energy.

We can replace the height and mass on the formula

$GPE=mgh$

And we get

$GPE=(0.005)(9.8)(169.2) \, J$

$\boxed{GPE=8.29 \,J}$

The gravitational potential energy of the nickel at the top of the monument is 8.29 J.