In 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 never went faster than 3 m/s.
The ball never went faster than 3 m/s.

At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.
At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.

The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s.
The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s.

It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp.

1 answer

To analyze the scenario based on the given information, let's break down the options considering the average speed and the nature of motion.

  1. The ball never went faster than 3 m/s.

    • This statement is not necessarily true. The average speed of a ball can be 3 m/s, but this does not mean it cannot exceed this speed at certain points during its motion.
  2. At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.

    • This statement could be true. Since average speed can include instances of higher speed and slower speed, it’s plausible that the ball could have momentarily exceeded 3 m/s at some point along the ramp.
  3. The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s.

    • This statement is false. If the ball had a constant speed of 3 m/s, then the average speed would also be 3 m/s, but there is no indication that the speed does not change throughout the ramp.
  4. It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp.

    • This statement is also not necessarily true. The average speed of 3 m/s implies that it would take 1 second to travel 3 meters (not necessarily divided evenly). The halfway point would be at 1.5 m, and at an average speed of 3 m/s, it would take 0.5 seconds, not 3 seconds.

Based on this analysis, the most likely statement that could be true is:

At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.