Enter the mass (kg), the initial height (m), and the final height (m) into the calculator to determine the Increase in Potential Energy.
- All Energy Calculators
- Change in Internal Energy Calculator
- Gravitational Potential Energy Calculator
- Hydro Energy Calculator
- Net Kinetic Energy Calculator
Increase in Potential Energy Formula
The following equation is used to calculate the Increase in Potential Energy.
dPE = m*g*(H2-H1)
- Where dPE is the Increase in Potential Energy (J)
- m is the mass (kg)
- H1 is the initial height (m)
- H2 is the final height (m)
- g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s^2)
How to Calculate Increase in Potential Energy?
The following example problems outline the steps and information needed to calculate the Increase in Potential Energy.
Example Problem #1
- First, determine the mass (kg). In this example, the mass (kg) is determined to be 4 .
- Next, determine the initial height (m). For this problem, the initial height (m) is measured to be 10 .
- Next, determine the final height (m). In this case, the final height (m) is found to be 20.
- Finally, calculate the Increase in Potential Energy using the formula above:
dPE = m*g*(H2-H1)
Inserting the values from above and solving the equation yields:
dPE = 4*9.81*(20-10) = 392.4 (J)
Example Problem #2
Using the same method as above, first, we need to measure or determine the variables required by the equation. For this example problem, these are provided as follows:
mass (kg) = 5
initial height (m) = 20
final height (m) = 30
Enter these given values into the calculator or above yields:
dPE = 5*9.81*(30-20) = 490.5 (J)
