Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

The kinetic energy needed to project a body of mass m from the earth’s surface to infinity is:
A) 14mgR
B) 12mgR
C) mgR
D) 2mgR

Answer
VerifiedVerified
151.5k+ views
like imagedislike image
Hint: To find out the kinetic energy of the mass, first write the formula of the kinetic energy and substitute the formula for the escaping velocity of the mass to move it out of gravitational force in it. The simplification of the equation provides the answer.

Formula used:
(1) The formula of the kinetic energy is given by
KE=12mV2
Where KE is the kinetic energy of the mass, m is the mass and V is the velocity at which the mass is thrown.

(2) The escape velocity is given by
Vesc=2gR
Where Vesc is the escaping velocity of the mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity and the R is the radius of the earth.

Complete step by step solution:
It is given that the mass projects to infinity from the earth surface. It means the mass destination is known but it is not returning back to the point of the projection. Hence the mass escapes the earth’s gravitational force that causes the mass to return back to the earth, after the force of the mass is zero. Hence this velocity that makes escape of the mass from the gravity is called escaping velocity.

The formula of the kinetic energy is considered.
KE=12mV2
KE=12mVesc2 ------------------(1)
Substituting the formula (2) in the equation (1).
Vesc=2gR
KE=12m(2gR)2
By simplifying the above equation,
KE=22mgR
By the further simplification, we get
KE=mgR
Hence the kinetic energy of the mass is mgR .

Thus the option (C) is correct.

Note: If the mass has the normal velocity, when the velocity at which the mass is projected up becomes zero, the mass again returns back to the original surface due to the gravity. This gravitational force is limited up to a certain distance, after this the objects can move with escape velocity.
Latest Vedantu courses for you
Grade 11 Science PCM | CBSE | SCHOOL | English
CBSE (2025-26)
calendar iconAcademic year 2025-26
language iconENGLISH
book iconUnlimited access till final school exam
tick
School Full course for CBSE students
PhysicsPhysics
ChemistryChemistry
MathsMaths
₹41,848 per year
EMI starts from ₹3,487.34 per month
Select and buy