Question

A person who climbs up something (e.g., a hill, a ladder, the stairs) from the ground gains potential energy. a person's weight (f = mg) is usually measured in pounds. for conversions, you may need to know that the weight of 1 pound is equal to 4.448 newtons. part a how many meters above the ground would a 240 lb person have to climb to gain 3 kilojoules (3000 joules) of potential energy?

Answer 1

We are given the following values:

weight w = 240 lb = 1,067.52 N

energy E = 3,000 J

 

The formula for potential energy is:

E = w h

where h is the height the person has to climb, therefore:

h = 3000 / 1067.52

h = 2.81 m

Therefore he has to climb 2.81 meters