Question

an unstretched rubber band is sitting on a table and has 5 units of gravitational potential energy. what is the total energy? 6 units 8 units 3 units 5 units

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the motion state

The rubber band is sitting on the table, so its velocity is 0, and the kinetic energy \( E_{k} = 0 \) (because kinetic energy \( E_{k}=\frac{1}{2}mv^{2} \), when \( v = 0 \), \( E_{k}=0 \)).

Step2: Calculate total energy

Total energy \( E_{total}=E_{p} + E_{k} \). Given \( E_{p} = 5 \) units and \( E_{k}=0 \) units, so \( E_{total}=5 + 0=5 \) units.

Answer:

5 units (corresponding to the option: 5 units)