It is said that Galileo dropped objects off of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to determine whether heavy or light objects fall faster. If Galileo had dropped a 5 kg cannonball from a height of 12 meters,

ΔP.E = - 588 J

Explanation:

The complete question is as follows:

It is said that Galileo dropped objects off the Leaning Tower of Pisa to determine whether heavy or light objects fall faster. If Galileo had dropped a 5.0-kg cannon ball to the ground from a height of 12 m, what would have been the change in PE of the cannon ball?

So, in order to calculate the change in Potential Energy of the cannon ball, we will use the general formula of Potential Energy as follows:

ΔP.E = mgΔh

where,

ΔP.E = Change in Potential Energy = ?

m = mass of cannon ball = 5 kg

g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s²

Δh = Change in Height of Cannon Ball = Final Height - Initial Height

Δh = 0 m - 12 m = - 12 m

Therefore,

ΔP.E = (5 kg)(9.8 m/s²)(- 12 m)

ΔP.E = - 588 J

Negative sign shows decrease in Potential Energy

magnified images possible images can be real = projected onto a screen