A 75 kg brown bear climbs 15 meters up a tree to see if he can spot the best blueberry patch in the valley. What is the brown bear's potential energy?
a. 11,025 J
b. 10,500 J
c. 11,225 J
d. 12,523 J
The potential energy of an object is given by the equation PE = mgh, where m is the mass of the object, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height of the object.
In this case, the mass of the brown bear is 75 kg and the height it climbs is 15 meters. The acceleration due to gravity is approximately 9.8 m/s^2.
Using the formula, PE = (75 kg)(9.8 m/s^2)(15 m) = 11,025 J.
Therefore, the brown bear's potential energy is 11,025 J, which corresponds to option (a).