Question:

A freely falling object eventually stops on reaching the ground. What happenes to its kinetic energy?

Updated On: Dec 25, 2023
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Solution and Explanation

When a freely falling body eventually stops on reaching the ground, its kinetic energy gets converted into heat energy (as the body and ground become warm due to collision), sound energy and into potential energy (due to change of shape or deformation).

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Concepts Used:

Work-Energy Theorem

The work and kinetic energy principle (also known as the work-energy theorem) asserts that the work done by all forces acting on a particle equals the change in the particle's kinetic energy. By defining the work of the torque and rotational kinetic energy, this definition can be extended to rigid bodies.

The change in kinetic energy KE is equal to the work W done by the net force on a particle is given by,

W = ΔKE = ½ mv2f − ½ mv2i

Where, 

vi → Speeds of the particle before the application of force

vf → Speeds of the particle after the application of force

m → Particle’s mass

Note: Energy and Momentum are related by, E = p2 / 2m.