A 300 kg rollercoaster cart goes down a 60 meter hill. The speed of the cart increases from 2 m/s to 20 m/s at the bottom of the hill. How much energy was lost to heat due to friction?

Question

A 300 kg rollercoaster cart goes down a 60 meter hill.  The speed of the cart increases from 2 m/s to 20 m/s at the bottom of the hill. How much energy was lost to heat due to friction?

anonymous · Answer

Calculate the difference between the Potential energy of the cart at the start and the kinetice energy of the cart at the end. You have to take into consideration that the cart began at 2m/s.

anonymous · Answer

I get the answer to be 115800Joules when acceleration to gravity is 9.8m/s2