A carpenter lifts a 20kg piece of wood to his shoulder 1.5m above the ground. He then sets the wood on his truck at 1.0 m above the ground and makes his delivery going 10 m/s What is the wood's potential energy on the carpenter's shoulder? Show all work.
To calculate the potential energy of an object, the formula used is:
Potential Energy (PE) = mass (m) × acceleration due to gravity (g) × height (h)
Given:
Mass (m) = 20 kg
Acceleration due to gravity (g) = 9.8 m/s^2 (approximate value on Earth)
Height (h) = 1.5 m
Using the formula, we can calculate the potential energy of the wood on the carpenter's shoulder:
PE = 20 kg × 9.8 m/s^2 × 1.5 m
PE = 294 joules
Therefore, the wood's potential energy on the carpenter's shoulder is 294 joules.