A swimmer jumps from a diving board into a pool. What would a graph of the swimmer's potential energy and total mechanical energy look like?(1 point)

Question

Responses

Potential energy would remain constant, while total mechanical energy would increase.
Potential energy would remain constant, while total mechanical energy would increase.

Potential energy would increase, while total mechanical energy would remain constant.
Potential energy would increase, while total mechanical energy would remain constant.

Potential energy would remain constant, while total mechanical energy would decrease.
Potential energy would remain constant, while total mechanical energy would decrease.

Answer 1

To analyze the swimmer's potential energy and total mechanical energy during the jump from a diving board into a pool, we must consider the concepts involved:

1. Potential Energy (PE): This energy depends on the height of the swimmer above the water. As the swimmer jumps down, the height decreases, and therefore, the potential energy decreases.

2. Total Mechanical Energy (TME): This is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy. Assuming no energy is lost to air resistance or other forms of friction, the total mechanical energy remains constant throughout the dive.

Given these points:

• As the swimmer jumps off the board, potential energy decreases as the height decreases.
• Total mechanical energy remains constant since energy is conserved (ignoring air resistance).

Thus, the correct response would be:

Potential energy would decrease, while total mechanical energy would remain constant.

However, since this option wasn't provided in your choices, the best match might be to imply a different aspect of energy forms, but none of the provided choices accurately describe the actual scenario. If you're forced to choose from those options, they might be misleading as they don't capture the decrease in potential energy and the constancy of total mechanical energy accurately.