If your monkey dropped a banana off a cliff, where are the potential in kinetic energies of the banana equal
At the bottom
Halfway down
At the top
A quarter of the way down
What is the correct answer?
The correct answer is at the top. At the top of the cliff, the potential energy of the banana would be at its maximum as it has not yet started to move. As the banana falls, its potential energy decreases while its kinetic energy increases. At the bottom of the cliff, the potential energy of the banana would be zero (since it has reached the ground) and its kinetic energy would be at its maximum.
The correct answer is at the bottom. At the top of the cliff, the banana has a maximum potential energy and zero kinetic energy. As the banana falls, its potential energy decreases while its kinetic energy increases. At the bottom of the cliff, all of the potential energy has been converted to kinetic energy, so the potential and kinetic energies are equal.
The correct answer is at the bottom.
To understand why, let's discuss potential and kinetic energies.
Potential energy is the energy an object possesses due to its position or condition. In this case, potential energy refers to the energy possessed by the banana when it is at different heights on the cliff.
Kinetic energy, on the other hand, is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion. It is determined by the object's mass and velocity.
When the banana is at the top of the cliff, it possesses the highest potential energy because it has the greatest height above the ground. At this point, it has not yet started to fall, so its kinetic energy is zero.
As the banana falls halfway down the cliff, it loses potential energy because its height decreases. At the same time, it gains kinetic energy as it picks up speed due to gravity. However, the potential and kinetic energies are not equal at this point.
At a quarter of the way down, the banana has fallen further, so its potential energy is lower compared to when it was at the top. However, its kinetic energy is also still lower than its potential energy.
Only when the banana reaches the bottom of the cliff does its potential energy become zero because it is at ground level. At this point, all of its initial potential energy has been converted to kinetic energy, giving it the maximum amount of kinetic energy. Therefore, at the bottom of the cliff, the potential and kinetic energies of the banana are equal.