With the beam being held still at a height of 40 m, the crane breaks and the beam falls to the ground. Assuming no air resistance, how much total energy will the beam have just as it hits the ground?

What we have so far:

Kinetic energy = 0. The reason behind that is because the beam is not moving at a height of 40m.

Gavity, g = 9.8m/s²

Height = 40m

Potential energy = mgh; this is equal to 0 because m, stands for mass and in this problem, we do not have a value for the mass of the beam. Hence, 0 x 9.8m/s² x 40m = 0. Potential energy = 0.

Solution:

We will use the equation of Total energy:

TE = potential energy + kinetic energy

TE = 0 + 0

∴ TE = 0

The answer is: Assuming no air resistance, the total energy of the beam as it hits the ground is 0.