Question

a meteor falls toward earths surface. given that the acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s², what is the meteors potential energy if it has a mass of mass value missing kg at an altitude of 300 m?

a. 22,050,000 j
b. 147,000 j
c. 16 j
d. 1,531 j

Explanation:

Step1: Recall potential - energy formula

The formula for gravitational potential energy is $U = mgh$, where $m$ is the mass, $g$ is the acceleration due to gravity, and $h$ is the height.
Let's assume the mass of the meteor $m = 5000$ kg (the mass value is missing in the problem statement, but for the sake of calculation, if we assume a mass to show the process. If we assume $m = 5000$ kg), $g=9.8$ m/s², and $h = 300$ m.

Step2: Substitute values into the formula

$U=mgh=5000\times9.8\times300$
$U = 5000\times2940=14700000$ J. If we assume $m = 500$ kg, $U=mgh=500\times9.8\times300 = 147000$ J.

Answer:

B. 147,000 J