Question

1. describe two ways in which doing work on an object can increase its mechanical energy. a. raising an object to a higher elevation does work as it increases its pe; increasing the speed of an object does work as it increases its ke. b. raising an object to a higher elevation does work as it increases its ke; increasing the speed of an object does work as it increases its pe. c. raising an object to a higher elevation does work as it increases its pe; decreasing the speed of an object does work as it increases its ke. d. raising an object to a higher elevation does work as it increases its ke; decreasing the speed of an object does work as it increases its pe.

Explanation:

To solve this, we recall the definitions of potential energy (PE) and kinetic energy (KE). PE is related to an object's position (like elevation), so raising an object increases its PE. KE is related to an object's speed, so increasing speed increases its KE. Option a correctly states that raising an object (increasing elevation) increases PE, and increasing speed increases KE. Option b swaps PE and KE for these actions, option c says decreasing speed increases KE (which is wrong, as speed decrease would decrease KE), and option d has incorrect relationships for both.

Answer:

a. Raising an object to a higher elevation does work as it increases its PE; increasing the speed of an object does work as it increases its KE.