A mountaineer of mass climbs from a base camp situated at an altitude of above sea…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Work and Energy · Work and Energy
Problem
A mountaineer of mass 60kg climbs from a base camp situated at an altitude of 1.6km above sea level to a summit at 5.2km. Answer the following questions:
(a) Show that the change in gravitational potential energy of the mountaineer depends only on the difference in altitudes and not on the actual path followed during the climb.
(b) Calculate the numerical value of the gain in mechanical energy for the mountaineer between the two points. Take g=9.8ms−2.
(c) If this entire gain in mechanical energy converts into kinetic energy during an idealised friction-free descent, determine the speed with which the mountaineer would arrive back at the base camp.