Question

A student is conducting an inquiry into the inertia of multiple items and documents her findings in a table.
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

Answer 1

To analyze the inertia of the objects based on their mass and speed, we can calculate their momentum, which is the product of mass and speed. Momentum is a measure of the inertia of an object in motion. The formula for momentum (\(p\)) is:

\[
p = m \cdot v
\]

where \(m\) is mass and \(v\) is speed.

Let's calculate the momentum for each object:

1. **Object W**
- Mass = 6.5 kg
- Speed = 18.0 m/s
- Momentum (\(p_W\)) = \(6.5 \, \text{kg} \times 18.0 \, \text{m/s} = 117 \, \text{kg m/s}\)

2. **Object X**
- Mass = 3.0 kg
- Speed = 15.0 m/s
- Momentum (\(p_X\)) = \(3.0 \, \text{kg} \times 15.0 \, \text{m/s} = 45 \, \text{kg m/s}\)

3. **Object Y**
- Mass = 11.5 kg
- Speed = 9.0 m/s
- Momentum (\(p_Y\)) = \(11.5 \, \text{kg} \times 9.0 \, \text{m/s} = 103.5 \, \text{kg m/s}\)

4. **Object Z**
- Mass = 5.0 kg
- Speed = 6.0 m/s
- Momentum (\(p_Z\)) = \(5.0 \, \text{kg} \times 6.0 \, \text{m/s} = 30 \, \text{kg m/s}\)

Now, we can summarize the findings in a table format:

| Object | Mass (kg) | Speed (m/s) | Momentum (kg m/s) |
|--------|-----------|--------------|--------------------|
| W | 6.5 | 18.0 | 117 |
| X | 3.0 | 15.0 | 45 |
| Y | 11.5 | 9.0 | 103.5 |
| Z | 5.0 | 6.0 | 30 |

From this table, we can observe how the momentum, which reflects the inertia of each object in motion, varies with their respective mass and speed.