A rollercoaster carriage of mass 100kg has 45kJ of Kinetic Energy at the lowest point of its ride. Ignoring air resistance and friction between the wheels and the tracks, what is the maximum height above this point it could reach? [Take g as 10m/s/s)

[A useful tip: always start by drawing a diagram!!]This question is asking you to apply conservation of energy, i.e. at the highest point it can reach above the lowest point, all of this Kinetic Energy will have been transferred to Gravitational Potential Energy. This requires use of the equations KE=GPE and GPE=mgh, where m is the mass (in kg), g is the acceleration due to gravity (in m/s/s) and h is the maximum height above the lowest point (in m). All units of energy must be in J for these equations to give the right answers.To get the height, rearrange the equations to give h=KE/mg, or rather h=45000/(100x10)=45m(Note: the question gave the energy in kJ, so the number had to be multiplied by 1000 to give it in J, which gave the height in m) 

RW
Answered by Ross W. Physics tutor

4263 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Two students are provided with a starting pistol, a stopwatch and a long measuring tape. The starting pistol produces a loud sound and a puff of smoke. Describe how the students use the apparatus to calculate the speed of sound.


A transformer has an input voltage of 4V, an output voltage of 8V and 50 turns on its primary coil. Assuming 100% efficiency, find the number of turns on the secondary coil.


Explain the difference between energy and power.


Describe a simple experiment to determine the speed of sound in air.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning