The amount of work done to raise a mass '' from the surface of the Earth to a height equal to the radius of the Earth '' will be
- A.
- B.
- C.
- D.
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Recall the formula for gravitational potential energy. The gravitational potential energy of a mass at distance from the centre of Earth (mass ) is
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Write the initial and final potential energies. At the surface, , and at height above the surface, , so
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Find the work done. Since work done equals the change in potential energy, Using , this simplifies to
Hence, the answer is D ().