Question
Name two ways you could decrease the potential energy of a bucket full of water sitting on a bench.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To decrease the potential energy of a bucket full of water sitting on a bench, you could:
1. **Lower the Bucket:** Physically lower the bucket by moving it to a lower surface or position, such as placing it on the floor instead of keeping it on the bench. Since potential energy is proportional to the height of the object, reducing its height will decrease its gravitational potential energy.
2. **Remove Water from the Bucket:** By partially or completely removing water from the bucket, you decrease the mass of the bucket and its contents. Since gravitational potential energy is also dependent on the mass of the object (calculated as \(PE = mgh\), where \(m\) is mass, \(g\) is the acceleration due to gravity, and \(h\) is height), reducing the mass will lower the potential energy even if the height remains the same.
1. **Lower the Bucket:** Physically lower the bucket by moving it to a lower surface or position, such as placing it on the floor instead of keeping it on the bench. Since potential energy is proportional to the height of the object, reducing its height will decrease its gravitational potential energy.
2. **Remove Water from the Bucket:** By partially or completely removing water from the bucket, you decrease the mass of the bucket and its contents. Since gravitational potential energy is also dependent on the mass of the object (calculated as \(PE = mgh\), where \(m\) is mass, \(g\) is the acceleration due to gravity, and \(h\) is height), reducing the mass will lower the potential energy even if the height remains the same.