Mrs. Wade puts a bucket of paint on top of a ladder. The bucket has a mass of 20 kg. The top of the ladder is 5 meters tall. How much potential energy does the bucket have?
a. cannot be determined
b. 40 J
c. 980 J
d. 100 J
The potential energy of an object is given by the formula PE = mgh, where m is the mass of the object, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2), and h is the height of the object.
In this case, the mass of the bucket is 20 kg and the height is 5 meters. Substituting these values into the formula, we get:
PE = (20 kg)(9.8 m/s^2)(5 m)
PE = 980 J
Therefore, the potential energy of the bucket is 980 J.
The answer is c. 980 J.