Answer to Question #94519 in Mechanics | Relativity for Evalex

Question

What kind of energy does an orange fruit still on the branch of the tree that 3m tall. Take the acceleration due to gravity as 9.8m/s2 and the mass of the orange is assumed to be 2g

Answer 1

We are talking about the potential energy in the gravity field of the Earth.

As long as the orange is stationary, the kinetic energy is 0.

Potential energy:

$U = mgh = 2\cdot10^{-3}\text{ kg }\cdot 9.8\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}^2}\cdot3\text{ m} = 0.0588\text{ J} = 5.88\cdot10^{-2}\text{ J} = 58.8\text{ mJ}.$