A 50 kg skier leaves the top of a 10 m high frictionless slope (point "a") from rest and reaches the bottom of the slope (point “b") with a speed v. He subsequently continues sliding on level ground to a full stop to a point “c" due to friction (i.e. µ = 0.2 on the level ground). a. Write an expression for the total mechanical energy of the skier at point “a". b. Write an expression for the total mechanical energy of the skier at point “". c. Use the Work-Energy Theorem to determine the work done from point “b" to point "c".
Kinematics
A machine is a device that accepts energy in some available form and utilizes it to do a type of work. Energy, work, or power has to be transferred from one mechanical part to another to run a machine. While the transfer of energy between two machine parts, those two parts experience a relative motion with each other. Studying such relative motions is termed kinematics.
Kinetic Energy and Work-Energy Theorem
In physics, work is the product of the net force in direction of the displacement and the magnitude of this displacement or it can also be defined as the energy transfer of an object when it is moved for a distance due to the forces acting on it in the direction of displacement and perpendicular to the displacement which is called the normal force. Energy is the capacity of any object doing work. The SI unit of work is joule and energy is Joule. This principle follows the second law of Newton's law of motion where the net force causes the acceleration of an object. The force of gravity which is downward force and the normal force acting on an object which is perpendicular to the object are equal in magnitude but opposite to the direction, so while determining the net force, these two components cancel out. The net force is the horizontal component of the force and in our explanation, we consider everything as frictionless surface since friction should also be calculated while called the work-energy component of the object. The two most basics of energy classification are potential energy and kinetic energy. There are various kinds of kinetic energy like chemical, mechanical, thermal, nuclear, electrical, radiant energy, and so on. The work is done when there is a change in energy and it mainly depends on the application of force and movement of the object. Let us say how much work is needed to lift a 5kg ball 5m high. Work is mathematically represented as Force ×Displacement. So it will be 5kg times the gravitational constant on earth and the distance moved by the object. Wnet=Fnet times Displacement.
Given:
The mass of the skier is .
The height of the friction-less slope is .
The speed of skier at point 'b' is .
The friction coefficient of the ground is .
Calculation:
a)
When the skier is at point 'a', his initial velocity is zero and thus, the total mechanical energy of the skier is equal to the potential energy of the skier.
Write the expression for the mechanical energy at point 'a'.
.....(1)
Here, is the mechanical energy of skier at point 'a', is the mass, is the acceleration due to gravity and is the height.
Substitute for , for , and for in the above expression.
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