A student designs an experiment to demonstrate the conservation of gravitational potential and kinetic energy. She drops a wooden block from rest through a photogate 2 m below. If energy is conserved, how fast should the block be traveling when it passes through the photogate?
A.
2.0 m/s
B.
6.3 m/s
C.
9.8 m/s
D.
19.6 m/s

A student drops a wooden block from rest through a photogate 2 m below. Since there is a conservation of the gravitational potential energy and the kinetic energy, the final speed of the block is B. 6.3 m/s.

Gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy

Gravitational potential energy: is the potential energy a massive object has in relation to another massive object due to gravity.
Kinetic energy: is a form of energy that an object or a particle has by reason of its motion.

A wooden block is dropped from rest. If energy is conserved, the initial gravitational potential energy (U₁) will be equal to the final kinetic energy (K₂).

U₁ = K₂

m × g × h₁ = 1/2 × m × v₂²

where,

m is the mass of the object.
g is the gravity.
h₁ is the initial height.
v₂ is the final speed.

m × g × h₁ = 1/2 × m × v₂²

g × h₁ = 1/2 × v₂²

v₂ = √(2 × g × h₁)

v₂ = √(2 × (9.8 m/s²) × 2 m) = 6.3 m/s

A student drops a wooden block from rest through a photogate 2 m below. Since there is a conservation of the gravitational potential energy and the kinetic energy, the final speed of the block is B. 6.3 m/s.

Learn more about conservation of energy here: https://brainly.com/question/14525402