How much work is required to lift a 500 lb. drum of oil to a height of 3 feet?

To determine the amount of work required to lift an object, you can use the formula for work, which is:

Work = Weight × Height

In this case, the weight of the drum is 500 pounds, and the height to which it needs to be lifted is 3 feet.

Calculating, the work would be:

Work = 500 lb × 3 ft = 1500 ft/lb

This means that 1500 foot-pounds of work is required to lift the 500 lb drum to a height of 3 feet. The correct answer reflects this calculation accurately.

This approach highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between force (in this case, weight), distance, and work in physics. The other answers do not align with this calculation and therefore would not represent the correct amount of work for this situation.