A pendulum of a given mass is pulled back through a given vertical height and released to swing back down to a 'wall' where it impacts.
Can i use mg delta h to get E kin; and then use E= half mv^2 to get the collision impact velocity?
Would someone check my thinking please? Thanks.
Yes, that method will work. It leads to
2g*delta h = V^2
Thanks very much, I appreciate it.
Yes, you are on the right track! You can use the conservation of mechanical energy to calculate the kinetic energy of the pendulum at the lowest point of its swing, and then use that kinetic energy to find the velocity just before it hits the wall.
To calculate the kinetic energy at the lowest point of the swing, you can use the formula:
E_kin = mgΔh
where "m" is the mass of the pendulum, "g" is the acceleration due to gravity, and "Δh" is the vertical height the pendulum was pulled back from before it was released.
Once you have the kinetic energy, you can then use the formula:
E_kin = (1/2)mv^2
to find the velocity "v" just before the pendulum hits the wall, where "m" is the mass of the pendulum.
To summarize:
1. Calculate the change in potential energy by using the formula ΔPE = mgΔh.
2. Convert the change in potential energy to kinetic energy by using the formula KE = mgΔh.
3. Use the kinetic energy to find the velocity just before impact by rearranging the formula KE = (1/2)mv^2 and solving for "v".
It's always a good idea to double-check your calculations to ensure accuracy.