Energy created by falling object

[Greg E]

If there is a 1.36 kg weight falling .1524 meters,
how many joules are created when the object reachs the end of the .1524 meters. How do you calculate this?
I came up with 2.032 joules which is .20723 kg meters which I think is enough power to lift 1.36 kg .1524 meters which is the same as where I started and that cannot be correct because a falling object has more power than the same object standing still.
Thanks,
Greg

 

[Astronuc]

This seems like a homework problem from Introductory Physics.

However, an object falling implies falling due to gravity. What one has is a conversion/transformation from gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy.

Taking the acceleration of gravity to be constant, the change in gravitational potential energy is mg$\Delta h$, where $\Delta h$ is the change in elevation.

 

[quicknote]

I would like to clarify that energy is not created but rather transformed from one form to another. In this case, the potential energy of the falling object is transformed into kinetic energy as it falls. The amount of energy produced can be calculated using the formula E = mgh, where m is the mass of the object, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2), and h is the height the object falls (0.1524 m in this case).

Using the given values, we can calculate the energy produced as 1.36 kg x 9.8 m/s^2 x 0.1524 m = 2.032 joules.

It is important to note that this is the maximum potential energy that can be produced by the falling object and not all of it will be converted into kinetic energy. Some energy will be lost due to air resistance and other factors.

Furthermore, the amount of energy required to lift an object is equal to the weight of the object multiplied by the height it is lifted. In this case, lifting a 1.36 kg object by 0.1524 meters would require 1.36 kg x 9.8 m/s^2 x 0.1524 m = 2.032 joules of energy, which is the same amount of energy produced by the falling object.

Therefore, it is not incorrect to say that the energy produced by a falling object is enough to lift the same object to the same height, as long as all other factors are taken into consideration.