Question

what is the total mechanical energy of a 73 kg cyclist on a 8 kg bicycle half way down a 40 m hulk traveling a 10 m/sec

Answer 1

Given data

*The given mass of the cyclist is m = 73 kg

*The given mass of the bicycle is M = 8 kg

*The bicycle travels halfway down at a height is h = 20 m

*The hulk is traveling at a speed is v = 10 m/s

The expression for the total mechanical energy is given as

$\begin{gathered} U_m=U_k+U_p \\ =\frac{1}{2}(m+M)v^2+(m+M)gh \end{gathered}$

*Here g is the acceleration due to the gravity

Substitute the known values in the above expression as

$\begin{gathered} U_m=\frac{1}{2}(73+8)(10)^2+(73+8)(9.8)(20) \\ =19926\text{ J} \end{gathered}$

Hence, the total mechanical energy is U_m = 19926 J