A kid slides down an icy (frictionless) hill starting from rest. At the top his gravitational potential energy is 500 J. He slides all the way down to the valley bottom where his gravitational potential energy becomes zero. His kinetic energy at the bottom will be

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or converted. Therefore, the initial gravitational potential energy at the top of the hill must be equal to the final kinetic energy at the bottom of the hill. Since the gravitational potential energy at the bottom of the hill is zero, all of the initial 500 J of potential energy must be converted to kinetic energy. Thus, the kinetic energy at the bottom of the hill will also be 500 J. Therefore, the correct answer is B.

A Kid Slides Down an Icy (Frictionless) Hill Starting from Rest