Concept explainers
(a) To determine:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the first step.
Answer to Problem 8P
Solution:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the first step is .
Explanation of Solution
Given:
Length of the step of a flight stair,
Mass of the person,
Formula used:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
Here,
is the mass
is the acceleration due to gravity
is the height of stair
Calculation:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
Plugging the values in the above equation
(b) To determine:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the second step.
Answer to Problem 8P
Solution:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the second step is .
Explanation of Solution
Given:
Length of the step of a flight stair,
Mass of the person,
Formula used:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
Here,
is the mass
is the acceleration due to gravity
is the height of stair
Calculation:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
On the second step of the stairs, the vertical distance of the person from the ground is
Plugging the values in the above equation
(c) To determine:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the third step.
Answer to Problem 8P
Solution:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the third step is .
Explanation of Solution
Given:
Length of the step of a flight stair,
Mass of the person,
Formula used:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
Here,
is the mass
is the acceleration due to gravity
is the height of stair
Calculation:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
On the third step of the stairs, the vertical distance of the person from the ground is
Plugging the values in the above equation
(d) To determine:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the nth step.
Answer to Problem 8P
Solution:
Gravitational potential energy of the person on the nth step is .
Explanation of Solution
Given:
Length of the step of a flight stair,
Mass of the person,
Formula used:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
Here,
is the mass
is the acceleration due to gravity
is the height of stair
Calculation:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
On the nth step of the stairs, the vertical distance of the person from the ground is
Plugging the values in the above equation
(e) To determine:
Change in energy of the person when he descends from step 6 to step 2.
Answer to Problem 8P
Solution:
Change in energy of the person is .
Explanation of Solution
Given:
Length of the step of a flight stair,
Mass of the person,
Formula used:
The gravitational potential energy is given by the formula
Here,
is the mass
is the acceleration due to gravity
is the height of stair
is the step number form the ground
Calculation:
The energy of the person on the step is calculated as
…… (1)
The energy of the person on the step is calculated as
…… (2)
The change in energy is calculated as
Chapter 27 Solutions
Physics: Principles with Applications
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