Higher Tier Only: Energy at Any Point During a Fall
Part of Gravitational Potential Energy — GCSE Physics
This higher tier covers Higher Tier Only: Energy at Any Point During a Fall within Gravitational Potential Energy for GCSE Physics. Revise Gravitational Potential Energy in Energy for GCSE Physics with 15 exam-style questions and 6 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 13 of 16 in this topic. This section is most useful once the core foundation idea is secure, because it adds the detail that pushes answers higher.
Topic position
Section 13 of 16
Practice
15 questions
Recall
6 flashcards
🎓 Higher Tier Only: Energy at Any Point During a Fall
At any point during a fall (assuming no air resistance), the total mechanical energy is conserved:
- Total energy = GPE + KE = constant at every point
- At height h above ground (starting from height H): GPE = mgh, KE = mg(H − h)
- Speed at any height: v = √(2g(H − h))
This means you can calculate the speed of an object at any point during a fall — not just at the start and end. For example, a ball dropped from 20 m will have speed √(2 × 10 × 5) = 10 m/s when it has fallen 5 m (i.e., at height 15 m).