Answer:
The object started from rest and travelled downward
Explanation:
The kinetic energy of an object is given by:
[tex]K=\frac{1}{2}mv^2[/tex]
where m is the mass of the object and v its speed. The problem tells us that the initial kinetic energy is zero, so the initial speed must be zero: v=0.
The potential energy of an object is given by:
[tex]U=mgh[/tex]
where g is the acceleration due to gravity and h is the height of the object above the groun. Since the final potential energy is zero, the final height must be zero: h=0.
The total mechanical energy of the object, which is sum of the kinetic and potential energy, must be conserved:
[tex]E=K+U[/tex]
Initially, there is no kinetic energy, so the mechanical energy is just potential energy: this means that the object is located at a certain height above the ground, and it is at rest.
At the end, there is no potential energy, so the mechanical energy is just kinetic energy: this means that the object reached the ground, and it has a certain speed.
Therefore, we can conclude that the object travelled downward.
