Figure 6 shows a ‘Mars rover’ descending to the surface of the planet Mars - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 4 - 2022 - Paper 1

To find the change in gravitational potential energy (GPE) as the rover descends from position P to position Q, we can use the formula:

$\Delta GPE = m \times g \times h$

Where:

• $m$ is the mass of the rover (1100 kg)
• $g$ is the gravitational field strength (3.7 N/kg)
• $h$ is the height difference, which is the distance from position P (1.80 km) to position Q (1.60 km), thus:

$h = (1.80 - 1.60) \text{ km} = 0.20 \text{ km} = 200 ext{ m}$

Now substituting the values into the equation:

$\Delta GPE = 1100 \times 3.7 \times 200$

Calculating this gives:

$\Delta GPE = 814000 \text{ J}$

Rounding to 2 significant figures, the change in gravitational potential energy is:

$\Delta GPE = 810000 \text{ J}$