Asked by huhhf3;q

In a thought experiment, a scientist devised a system in which an object fell from a higher point to a lower point above the ground with no friction. Which statement about this system is correct?
(1 point)
The mechanical energy of the system at the beginning of the experiment is greater than the mechanical energy of the system at the end of the experiment.
The mechanical energy of the system at the beginning of the experiment is equal to the mechanical energy of the system at the end of the experiment.
The mechanical energy of the system at the beginning of the experiment is less than the mechanical energy of the system at the end of the experiment.
The total energy of the system was zero because there was no friction.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The mechanical energy of the system at the beginning of the experiment is equal to the mechanical energy of the system at the end of the experiment.

Reason: with no friction (no nonconservative forces), gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy but the sum (mechanical energy = KE + PE) is conserved. (The zero of potential energy can be chosen arbitrarily, but that does not change that the total mechanical energy stays constant.)