Question

A diver with a mass of 70.0 kg stands motionless at the top of a diving platform 3.0 m high. The divers initial vertical speed is zero. What is the divers potential energy relative to the water surface?

Answer 1

Given,

The mass of the diver, m=70.0 kg

The height of the platform, h=3.0 m

The potential energy of a body is the product of the height at which the body is situated and the weight of the body.

That is the potential energy of the diver is given by,

$E_P=\text{mgh}$

Where g is the acceleration due to gravity.

On substituting the known values in the above equation,

$\begin{gathered} E_P=70.0\times9.8\times3.0 \\ =2058\text{ J} \end{gathered}$

Therefore the potential energy of the diver is 2058 J