a) Potential energy: 147 m [J]
The gravitational potential energy of an object is given by
where
m is its mass
is the acceleration of gravity
h is the height of the object above the ground
In this problem,
h = 15 m
We call 'm' the mass of the ball, since we don't know it
So, the potential energy of the ball at the top of the hill is
(J)
b) Velocity of the ball at the bottom of the hill: 17.1 m/s
According to the law of conservation of energy, in absence of friction all the potential energy of the ball is converted into kinetic energy as the ball reaches the bottom of the hill. Therefore we can write:
where
v is the final velocity of the ball
We know from part a) that
U = 147 m
Substituting into the equation above,
And re-arranging for v, we find the velocity: