Concept explainers
Rework Example 7.1, now taking the zero of potential energy at street level.
EXAMPLE 7.1 Gravitational Potential Energy: Riding the Elevator
A 55-kg engineer leaves her office on the 33rd floor of a skyscraper and takes an elevator up to the 59th floor. Later she descends to street level. If the engineer chooses the zero of potential energy at her office and if the distance from one floor to the next is 3.5 m. what’s the potential energy when the engineer is (a) in her office, (b) on the 59th floor, and (c) at street level?
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Essential University Physics (3rd Edition)
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