A pilot begins to land an aircraft - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 4 - 2013 - Paper 1
Question 4
A pilot begins to land an aircraft.
(i) What happens to the gravitational potential energy of the aircraft?
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Worked Solution & Example Answer:A pilot begins to land an aircraft - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 4 - 2013 - Paper 1
Step 1
What happens to the gravitational potential energy of the aircraft?
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Answer
The gravitational potential energy of the aircraft decreases as it descends from a height of 200 m to 100 m. This is due to the decrease in height, which in turn reduces the potential energy, as given by the formula:
PE=mgh
where m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is height.
Step 2
What happens to the kinetic energy of the aircraft?
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Answer
The kinetic energy of the aircraft does not change because the velocity remains constant. Kinetic energy is defined by the equation:
KE=21mv2
As the mass m and velocity v do not change, the kinetic energy also remains constant.
