Question
You drop three different balls from your second-floor deck to the ground. The mass of the balls is shown.
Which ball will experience the greatest change in kinetic energy from the deck to the ground?
Responses
A baseballbaseball
B golf ballgolf ball
C tennis balltennis ball
D They will all have the same kinetic energy because the height is the same.
Which ball will experience the greatest change in kinetic energy from the deck to the ground?
Responses
A baseballbaseball
B golf ballgolf ball
C tennis balltennis ball
D They will all have the same kinetic energy because the height is the same.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The change in kinetic energy of an object as it falls to the ground is given by the equation for gravitational potential energy, which is converted to kinetic energy as the object falls. This change in energy can be calculated using the formula:
\[
\Delta KE = mgh
\]
where \( m \) is the mass of the object, \( g \) is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately \( 9.81 \, \text{m/s}^2 \)), and \( h \) is the height from which the object is dropped.
Since the height is the same for all three balls (assuming they are all dropped from the same deck height), the change in kinetic energy will depend on the mass of each ball. The greater the mass, the greater the change in kinetic energy will be.
If we want to find out which ball experiences the greatest change in kinetic energy, we compare their masses:
- If the baseball has the greatest mass, it will have the greatest change in kinetic energy.
- If the golf ball has a greater mass than the tennis ball but less than the baseball, it will have the second greatest change in kinetic energy.
- The tennis ball, being the lightest, will experience the least change in kinetic energy.
Since the problem does not provide specific masses for each ball, we cannot definitively determine which ball has the greatest change in kinetic energy without that information. However, the correct conclusion based on physical principles is:
**D: They will all have the same kinetic energy because the height is the same. This is incorrect. The correct answer would be based on their masses.**
If the actual masses were known and assuming the baseball is the heaviest, for example:
- A (baseball) likely experiences the greatest change in kinetic energy.
- B (golf ball) would have the second greatest, depending on its mass.
- C (tennis ball) would have the least.
So the final answer — if the baseball is the heaviest — would be **A: baseball** for experiencing the greatest change in kinetic energy.
\[
\Delta KE = mgh
\]
where \( m \) is the mass of the object, \( g \) is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately \( 9.81 \, \text{m/s}^2 \)), and \( h \) is the height from which the object is dropped.
Since the height is the same for all three balls (assuming they are all dropped from the same deck height), the change in kinetic energy will depend on the mass of each ball. The greater the mass, the greater the change in kinetic energy will be.
If we want to find out which ball experiences the greatest change in kinetic energy, we compare their masses:
- If the baseball has the greatest mass, it will have the greatest change in kinetic energy.
- If the golf ball has a greater mass than the tennis ball but less than the baseball, it will have the second greatest change in kinetic energy.
- The tennis ball, being the lightest, will experience the least change in kinetic energy.
Since the problem does not provide specific masses for each ball, we cannot definitively determine which ball has the greatest change in kinetic energy without that information. However, the correct conclusion based on physical principles is:
**D: They will all have the same kinetic energy because the height is the same. This is incorrect. The correct answer would be based on their masses.**
If the actual masses were known and assuming the baseball is the heaviest, for example:
- A (baseball) likely experiences the greatest change in kinetic energy.
- B (golf ball) would have the second greatest, depending on its mass.
- C (tennis ball) would have the least.
So the final answer — if the baseball is the heaviest — would be **A: baseball** for experiencing the greatest change in kinetic energy.