Physics

To calculate the work done by gravity on the skier during the descent, we can follow these steps:

 

Understanding the situation

The skier is launched horizontally from point and lands at point on a slope inclined at an angle of .

The mass of the skier is .

The acceleration due to gravity is .

The skier moves under the influence of gravity, and there is no air resistance, so only gravitational potential energy changes.

 

Determine the vertical displacement

The work done by gravity depends on the vertical displacement of the skier. The vertical displacement is the change in height from the starting point to the landing point .

 

The skier lands on a slope inclined at .

After 2 seconds, the skier has traveled a certain horizontal distance, but the vertical displacement can be calculated using the vertical motion equation:

 

Given that and :

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