a person is riding a skateboard on a u-shaped ramp. at which point does the person have the greatest potential energy?
at the top of the ramp before they begin moving down into the ramp.
in the middle of the ramp at its lowest point in the u.
on the first part of the ramp as the person is moving down the side
on the other side of the ramp as the person is coming back up
Potential energy in a gravitational field, such as that near the surface of the Earth, is determined by the object's height relative to a reference point, along with its mass and the acceleration due to gravity. The formula for gravitational potential energy (PE) is:
PE = m * g * h
where m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s² on Earth), and h is the height.
On a U-shaped ramp, the person on the skateboard will have the greatest potential energy at the point where they are at the highest vertical position relative to the bottom of the ramp. This is because the height (h) in the equation for potential energy is greatest at that point.
Therefore, the person has the greatest potential energy at the top of the ramp before they begin moving down into the ramp. As the skateboarder descends into the ramp, their potential energy is converted into kinetic energy (the energy of motion). When they reach the lowest point in the U-shaped ramp, their potential energy is at its minimum, and their kinetic energy is at its maximum (ignoring other forces such as friction and air resistance). As they travel up the other side of the ramp, their kinetic energy converts back into potential energy, but they will not reach the original height and therefore not achieve the same maximum potential energy if energy losses are accounted for in a real-world scenario.