The superheroine Xanaxa, who has a mass of 65.7 kg , is pursuing the 70.3 kg archvillain Lexlax. She leaps from the ground to the top of a 175 m high building then dives off it and comes to rest at the bottom of a 15.5 m deep excavation where she finds Lexlax and neutralizes him. Does all this bring about a net gain or a net loss of gravitational potential energy?
loss or gain?
By how much? Answer with a positive number. Take g = 9.81 m/s2.
answer in J

Visualize the problem and identify special cases first examine the problem by drawing a picture and visualizing the motion. apply newton's 2nd law, ∑f⃗ =ma⃗ , to each body in your mind. don't worry about which quantities are given. think about the forces on each body: how are these consistent with the direction of the acceleration for that body? can you think of any special cases that you can solve quickly now and use to test your understanding later? one special case in this problem is if m2=0, in which case block 1 would simply fall freely under the acceleration of gravity: a⃗ 1=−gj^.