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Question

A freely falling object eventually stops on reaching the ground. What happens to its kinetic energy?


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Solution

Kinetic energy for a freely falling object

  1. When an object is positioned at a certain height, it must have a certain amount of potential energy.
  2. If this block is allowed to descend freely due to gravity's acceleration, the object's potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy.
  3. The mass of the object, its acceleration owing to gravity, and the height at which it is put determine the potential energy of the object.
  4. The kinetic energy of an object is determined by the mass of the thing and the velocity at which it is traveling.
  5. When an object falls from a certain height, the object's potential energy reduces but its kinetic energy increases.
  6. The complete potential energy of the object is transformed to kinetic energy at the moment it reaches the ground.
  7. When an object collides with the ground, its kinetic energy is transformed into heat and sound energy, which is why sound is produced when it falls to the earth.

Hence, when an object falls freely, its potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy. When the object hits the ground, its kinetic energy gets converted into heat energy and sound energy.


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