Use the table of data from an investigation on the effect of gravity on falling objects to answer the question. Student Ball 1 (seconds) Ball 2 (seconds) Ball 3 (seconds) Ziva 0.52 0.51 0.51 Jade 0.51 0.52 0.52 Eduardo 0.50 0.50 0.50 Owen 0.50 0.37 0.51 Four students investigated the effect of gravity on falling objects. The students all used the same three balls and dropped them from a height of 8 meters. They recorded the time it took for each ball to hit the ground. Which student most likely had an error in the results? (1 point)

Owen Owen Ziva Ziva Jade Jade Eduardo

1 answer

To determine which student most likely had an error in their results, we can analyze the times recorded for the balls. Typically, when dropping objects from the same height, we expect to see similar times because the effect of gravity will cause all the objects to fall at comparable rates, assuming they have similar mass and air resistance is negligible.

Here are the recorded times:

  • Ziva: 0.52, 0.51, 0.51 seconds
  • Jade: 0.51, 0.52, 0.52 seconds
  • Eduardo: 0.50, 0.50, 0.50 seconds
  • Owen: 0.50, 0.37, 0.51 seconds

Looking at these results, Owen's second time (0.37 seconds) is significantly lower than the others, which ranged from about 0.50 to 0.52 seconds. This suggests that Owen may have made an error in timing for that specific drop.

Therefore, the student who most likely had an error in the results is Owen.