Question

A student is conducting an inquiry into the inertia of multiple items and documents her findings in a table.
Which item possesses the highest level of inertia?
object mass(kg) speed(m/s)
w 6.5 18.0
x 3.0 15.0
y 11.5 9.0
z 5.0 6.0
(1 point)
Responses

X
X

Y
Y

Z
Z

W
W

Answer 1

Inertia is related to an object's mass and velocity. It can be quantified using the formula for momentum, which is the product of mass and velocity (p = m * v). The higher the product, the greater the inertia.

Let's calculate the momentum for each object:

- For object W:
\[
p_w = 6.5 \, \text{kg} \times 18.0 \, \text{m/s} = 117.0 \, \text{kg m/s}
\]

- For object X:
\[
p_x = 3.0 \, \text{kg} \times 15.0 \, \text{m/s} = 45.0 \, \text{kg m/s}
\]

- For object Y:
\[
p_y = 11.5 \, \text{kg} \times 9.0 \, \text{m/s} = 103.5 \, \text{kg m/s}
\]

- For object Z:
\[
p_z = 5.0 \, \text{kg} \times 6.0 \, \text{m/s} = 30.0 \, \text{kg m/s}
\]

Now we compare the momenta:

- \( p_w = 117.0 \, \text{kg m/s} \)
- \( p_x = 45.0 \, \text{kg m/s} \)
- \( p_y = 103.5 \, \text{kg m/s} \)
- \( p_z = 30.0 \, \text{kg m/s} \)

The object with the highest level of inertia, as indicated by the greatest momentum, is object **W** with a momentum of \( 117.0 \, \text{kg m/s} \).

So the answer is **W**.