Question

At the top of the slide, the boy drops the rubber ball off to the side, so that it falls vertically
straight down. Using energy methods, and neglecting air resistance, find the speed of the ball at the bottom of the slide.

Answer 1

The speed of the ball at the bottom of the table is $\sqrt{2gh}$.

From the principle of conservation of mechanical energy, the total potential energy of the ball at the maximum height is equal to the total kinetic energy of the ball at the lowest point.

$P.E_{top} = K.E_{bottom}$

• let the initial height of the ball from the table top = h

The potential energy of the ball at the maximum height is calculated as;

P.E = mgh

where;

• m is mass of the ball
• g is acceleration due to gravity

At the bottom of the table, all the potential energy of the ball will be converted into kinetic energy and the speed of the ball at the bottom of the table is calculated as;

$K.E= P.E\\\\\frac{1}{2} mv^2 = mgh\\\\v^2 = 2gh\\\\v = \sqrt{2gh}$

Thus, the speed of the ball at the bottom of the table is $\sqrt{2gh}$.

Learn more here:https://brainly.com/question/19969393