Asked by drip
PE = m × g × L true or false
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Short answer: It can be true — but only if L means the vertical height (h) above your chosen reference and g is constant.
More precisely:
- Near Earth’s surface, gravitational potential energy U = m g h (plus an arbitrary constant). So if L = h, then PE = m g L is correct.
- If L is some other length (e.g., the length along an incline), use the vertical component: U = m g (L sinθ).
- If you’re far from Earth or g is not constant, use the general form U(r) = −G M m / r instead.
Also note sign/zero: only differences in PE are physically meaningful, and you can add a constant: ΔU = m g Δh. Units check: kg·(m/s²)·m = joule.
More precisely:
- Near Earth’s surface, gravitational potential energy U = m g h (plus an arbitrary constant). So if L = h, then PE = m g L is correct.
- If L is some other length (e.g., the length along an incline), use the vertical component: U = m g (L sinθ).
- If you’re far from Earth or g is not constant, use the general form U(r) = −G M m / r instead.
Also note sign/zero: only differences in PE are physically meaningful, and you can add a constant: ΔU = m g Δh. Units check: kg·(m/s²)·m = joule.
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