A 4.0 kg mass of metal is dropped a distance 0.8m onto the
horizontal surface in order to test its hardness.
What is the velocity of the body just before hitting the
horizontal surface?
For reference purposes, here are the earlier questions:
(a) when the mass has falen through 0.8m, how much gravitational
potential energy has been transformed? [g = 10m/s2]
Using the mgh formula, you get 32 J
(b) How much kinetic energy does the mass possesss before it
hits the horizontal surface?
I wrote 32 J, similar to the above. Ain't sure what is the
velocity so I can't apply the 1/2mv^2 method. I take it that the
total energy in the system remains constant - part of the principle
of conservation of energy.