Q:  Suppose that a book of mass m = 1 kg falls from a table
             a distance of h = 1 m to the floor.

      How much gravitational potential energy is converted into
             kinetic energy just before the book lands?



            The gravitational potential energy of an object of mass m
            at a height h near the surface of the Earth is

                       GPE  =  m * g * h

            where "g" = 9.8 m/s^2.

            So for the book, the GPE lost as it falls to the floor is

 
                  GPE lost  =  (1 kg) * (9.8 m/s^2) * (1 m)

                            =  9.8 Joules