Q&A for How to Calculate the Gravitational Potential Energy of an Object

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How do I calculate the height using this formula?

Community Answer

You can multiply the mass by the gravity, all divided by the GPE. That will give you the height.

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Question

I got 9.81. What was my mistake?

Community Answer

If you followed the instructions above and performed the same calculations only to get 9.81, then you simply entered a number into your calculator incorrectly, so some math went wrong along the way. The number 9.81 in this situation represents the average gravity of earth.

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Question

What is energy measured in?

Community Answer

Energy is measured in joules (J). If it reaches a thousand joules, you can convert it into kiloJoules (kJ).

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Question

How do I calculate the potential energy of a seven-kg object five meters from the ground?

Community Answer

Here, you can follow the same rule of mass x gravity x height = universal gravitational. Your equation would be 7 x 9.81 x 5, which equals 343.35.

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Question

How can I change potential energy into kinetic energy?

Community Answer

Potential energy is stored energy, so if a person is still they have potential energy, but when they move or do work, the energy becomes kinetic energy. Anytime you move yourself, or any object that is sitting still, you are changing potential energy to kinetic energy.

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What are some examples of potential energy?

Community Answer

Potential energy is energy that is stored by a body. You can have a potential form of basically any sort of energy. Some examples include gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy, and electric potential energy.

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Question

How do I calculate GPE if the mass is in Newtons?

Community Answer

One newton is equal to 0.101972 kilograms, so multiply the value for Newtons by 0.101972 to find your mass in kilograms.

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Question

How do I find the mass and potential energy?

LeChatNoir

Community Answer

Currently, it's not possible to calculate the amount of potential energy without the mass. If you can find the mass of the object on the internet, you can then follow the above steps to calculate the potential energy, or weigh it if you have a scale.

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Question

What if the mass was missing?

Community Answer

As long as you have the GPE, the height, and the gravity, you can also calculate the weight and (vice versa). However, if you don't have the mass or the GPE, then you don't have enough information to solve the equation.

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Question

How do I find the GPE at the maximum height of lift if I know the weight of an item and how much work was done to the item?

Community Answer

The amount of work is not always needed. If you know the height and weight, then you can multiply them together and then multiply again by 9.8 (gravitational acceleration). Also, make sure the height is in meters and the weight is in kilograms.

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How do I find potential energy of something when I know the mass and height?

Community Answer

You can find it with the formula GPE = M x g x h, where M is mass of the object, g is gravity, and h is height.

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Question

How do I find the GPE of an item if it is on the ground?

Community Answer

If an object is resting on the ground, its GPE is 0. It's that simple. It simply can't fall any further.

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