Question

A new ride being built at an amusement park includes a vertical drop of 71. 6 meters. Starting from rest, the ride vertically drops that distance before the track curves forward. If the velocity at the bottom of the drop is 10. 0 m/s and the mass of the cart and passengers is 3. 5 x 104 kg, how much potential energy was converted into thermal energy (heat)?.

Answer 1

The energy converted into thermal energy is 2.31*10^7J

To solve this problem, we need to calculate the potential energy and kinetic energy and subtract the kinetic energy from the potential energy.

The data given are;

• mass = 3.5*10^5 kg
• velocity = 10m/s
• height of the ride = 7.6m

Potential Energy

This is the energy of a body at rest or at a particular height.

$P.E = mgh$

Substitute the values into the equation and solve for P.E

$P.E = 3.5*10^4*9.8*71.6\\P.E =2.48*10^7J$

Kinetic Energy

This is the energy of a body in motion i.e the energy of the ride while it's in motion.

$K.E = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$

Substitute the values and solve for K.E

$K.E = \frac{1}{2}*3.50*10^4*10^2\\K.E = 1.75*10^6J$

The thermal energy = P.E - K.E

$2.48*10^7 - 1.75*10^6= 2.31*10^7J$

The amount of energy converted into thermal energy is 2.31 * 10^7J

Learn more about conversion of energy here

brainly.com/question/14570831