what happens to the potential energy of a body when dropped from certain height
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The potential energy of the body keeps on decreasing when the body is dropped from a certain height .
◼ The mathematical explanation for this can be given by using the formula for potential energy . Potential energy = mass × acceleration due to gravity × height of the body .
Hence the potential energy is directly proportional to the height of the body .
◼ As the body is dropped , the body approaches the ground and the potential energy of the body keeps on decreasing because the height or the distance of the body from the ground keeps on decreasing .
◼ The total mechanical energy remains constant and hence there is another way to prove the above statement .
◼ As the total mechanical energy is the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy we can easily notice that as the body is dropped from a certain height the potential energy of the body keeps on decreasing as the kinetic energy of the body keeps on increasing .
◼ Why the kinetic energy keeps on increasing ? A simple answer would be because it is under the impact of the acceleration due to gravity or the force due to the Earth's pull .
◼ Note that in the above process , the potential energy continuously changes into kinetic energy and hence there is a marked decrease in potential energy and increase in kinetic energy .
◼ Thus kinetic energy increases and potential energy keeps on decreasing as a body is dropped from a certain height .