Question

A person is painting the walls of his house. He stands on a ladder with a bucket containing paint in one hand and a brush in the other. Suddenly the bucket slips from his hand and falls to the floor. If the bucket with the paint had a mass of 6 kg and was at a height of 2 m at the time it slipped, how much gravitational potential energy was lost together with the paint?

Answer 1

A person is painting the walls of his house. He stands on a ladder with a bucket containing paint in one hand and a brush in the other. Suddenly the bucket slips from his hand and falls to the floor. If the bucket with the paint had a mass of 6 kg and was at a height of 2 m at the time it slipped, then the gravitational potential energy lost is about 117.6 joule.

Explanation:

Step 1:

From the given statements, we know  that

Mass of the bucket including the paint (m) = 6 kg

Height at which the person is standing (h) = 2 m  

Step 2:

As we know,

Potential energy = mgh

                            $= 6\times9.8\times2$ [Taking g = 9.8 m/s2]

                             = 117.6 J

Step 3:

Now the potential Energy on the floor = mgh $= 6\times 9.8\times0$ = 0 J

Lost in potential Energy = $117.6 J - 0 J$ = 117.6 J

Hence, the potential energy lost is 117.6 joule.

Answer 2

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