To determine if the student's claim is correct, we need to use the formula for kinetic energy:
Kinetic Energy = 0.5 * mass * velocity^2
We don't have the mass of the ball or its velocity, so we cannot calculate the exact kinetic energy. However, we can analyze the claim using the concept of potential energy.
When the ball is dropped from a height of 3.0 meters, it will convert its potential energy to kinetic energy as it falls.
Potential Energy = mass * gravitational acceleration * height
Since the ball is only dropped, its initial velocity is zero. Thus, all of the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy.
So, if the ball were dropped from a height of 3.0 meters, the potential energy at that height would be converted to kinetic energy upon hitting the ground.
Therefore, the student's claim is incorrect. The kinetic energy upon hitting the ground would be equal to the potential energy at the height of 3.0 meters, which in turn would depend on the mass of the ball.
The student claims that a ball dropped 3.0 meters would have fewer than 96 joules of kinetic energy upon hitting the ground. Is she correct? Why?
1 answer