Question

Which of the following statement is/are true for a freely falling body?

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• A. Potential energy and kinetic energy at any point during the free fall always remain constant.
• B. Potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy progressively.
• C. Sum of potential energy and kinetic energy at any point during the free fall remains constant.
• D. Sum of potential energy and kinetic energy at any point during the free fall does not remain constant.

Answer 1

Answer: (B), (C)

Sum of potential energy and kinetic energy at any point during the free fall remains constant.

Potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy progressively. During the beginning of the free-fall the velocity of the object is zero. The velocity constantly increase because the body is in constant acceleration due to gravity. Since the kinetic energy is increasing progressively, the potential energy decreases. The total energy that is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy of the body, at any instant during the free fall remains constant, until collision.