We know that If a ball of mass 1 kg is kept at a height 10 m possess potential energy mghi.e. (1×10×10)=100 J. (Taking earth surface as reference, where m = mass of object, g = acceleration due to gravity, h = height of object from earth surface.) what will be the kinetic energy of the ball when the ball is allowed to freely fall from a height 10m just before it hits the ground? (take g = 10 m/s2 and neglect air drag)
100 J
Initially, the ball has potential energy which is later converted to kinetic energy.
Potential energy = 1×10×10=100 J (at h = 10m)
When the ball reaches the bottom, i.e., h = 0, potential energy will become 1×10×0=0 J.
So in absence of air drag, all potential energy will be converted to kinetic energy.
Therefore, kinetic energy when the ball hits the ground will be 100 J.