‘what is the change in gravitational potential energy for a diver of 60kg who walks up from ground level to the 10m platform‘how am I supposed to know the Gravitational potential energy is 10?
Hey @Charmz,
Great to see you again!
I am a bit confused at what you mean by 'how am I supposed to know the gravitational potential energy is 10'.
When an object is lifted in a gravitational field, energy is transferred to a gravity store. This store is called gravitational potential energy.
The equation that you must remember for calculating gravitational potential energy (GPE) is:
gravitational potential energy = mass × change in height × gravitational field strength (g)
From here, you just have to sub in the values.
You are given the mass - 60 kg.
You know the change in height. The difference between ground level (0 m) and a 10 m platform is just 10 m.
You also know the gravitational field strength to be 10 N/kg (you need to remember this value as it is sometimes not given in the question).
Now we just sub in the values into our equation:
60 x 10 x 10
From here we get the answer 6000 J (always remember units!)