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

3830 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Why would you get an electric shock if you touched a wire?


Two identical objects have a charge of magnitude q. If r is the distance bethween them, what should their mass be so that the objects are balanced.


X-rays and gamma rays have different uses. Describe one use for X-rays and one use for gamma rays.


Briefly outline how a skydiver reaches terminal velocity.


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:

© 2025 by IXL Learning