Question
n a science experiment, a student releases a ball down a 3 m ramp. If the ball has an average speed of 3 m/s, which of the following must be true?(1 point) Responses The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s. The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s. The ball never went faster than 3 m/s. The ball never went faster than 3 m/s. It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp. It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp. At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To analyze the average speed of the ball, we need to clarify what average speed means. Average speed is defined as the total distance traveled divided by the total time taken.
Given the information:
- The distance of the ramp is 3 m.
- The average speed of the ball is 3 m/s.
Let's evaluate the statements:
1. **The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s.**
- This statement is **not necessarily true**, because average speed can be calculated over intervals where speed may vary. The ball could have accelerated and slowed down at different points during its travel.
2. **The ball never went faster than 3 m/s.**
- This statement is **not necessarily true** either. The ball could have gone faster than 3 m/s at certain points and slower at others, while still averaging to 3 m/s overall.
3. **It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp.**
- This statement is **not true**. If the ball has an average speed of 3 m/s over 3 m, it takes 1 second to travel the entire distance (3 m) since time = distance/speed = 3 m / 3 m/s = 1 s. Thus, reaching halfway (1.5 m) would take 0.5 seconds, not 3 seconds.
4. **At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**
- This statement **can be true**. It’s possible for the ball to have momentarily traveled faster than 3 m/s while averaging to an overall speed of 3 m/s.
Out of all these statements, the only one that can be true based on the average speed is:
**At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**
Given the information:
- The distance of the ramp is 3 m.
- The average speed of the ball is 3 m/s.
Let's evaluate the statements:
1. **The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s.**
- This statement is **not necessarily true**, because average speed can be calculated over intervals where speed may vary. The ball could have accelerated and slowed down at different points during its travel.
2. **The ball never went faster than 3 m/s.**
- This statement is **not necessarily true** either. The ball could have gone faster than 3 m/s at certain points and slower at others, while still averaging to 3 m/s overall.
3. **It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp.**
- This statement is **not true**. If the ball has an average speed of 3 m/s over 3 m, it takes 1 second to travel the entire distance (3 m) since time = distance/speed = 3 m / 3 m/s = 1 s. Thus, reaching halfway (1.5 m) would take 0.5 seconds, not 3 seconds.
4. **At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**
- This statement **can be true**. It’s possible for the ball to have momentarily traveled faster than 3 m/s while averaging to an overall speed of 3 m/s.
Out of all these statements, the only one that can be true based on the average speed is:
**At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**