Question
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 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 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. The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To analyze the situation, we need to look at the implications of the average speed of the ball being 3 m/s over a distance of 3 m.
1. **At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**
This statement could be true. Average speed does not indicate the speed at every point along the path. The ball could have accelerated and traveled faster than 3 m/s at certain intervals and still average 3 m/s.
2. **The ball never went faster than 3 m/s.**
This statement is not necessarily true. Similar to the first option, the average speed being 3 m/s does not mean the ball could not have gone faster at some points.
3. **It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp.**
The average speed is calculated over the total distance and total time. If the ball's average speed is 3 m/s for 3 m, it took the ball 1 second to reach the bottom (3 m รท 3 m/s = 1 s). Therefore, it is not correct to state it took 3 seconds to reach the halfway point, which is 1.5 m.
4. **The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s.**
This statement is also not necessarily true. Again, the average speed of 3 m/s doesn't mean the ball maintained that speed throughout its descent. The ball could have varying speeds.
Taking all of the above into account, the only statement that must be true (and is consistent with the definition of average speed) is:
**At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**
Thus, the answer that must be true is the first option.
1. **At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**
This statement could be true. Average speed does not indicate the speed at every point along the path. The ball could have accelerated and traveled faster than 3 m/s at certain intervals and still average 3 m/s.
2. **The ball never went faster than 3 m/s.**
This statement is not necessarily true. Similar to the first option, the average speed being 3 m/s does not mean the ball could not have gone faster at some points.
3. **It took the ball 3 s to reach the halfway point down the ramp.**
The average speed is calculated over the total distance and total time. If the ball's average speed is 3 m/s for 3 m, it took the ball 1 second to reach the bottom (3 m รท 3 m/s = 1 s). Therefore, it is not correct to state it took 3 seconds to reach the halfway point, which is 1.5 m.
4. **The ball traveled at a constant speed of 3 m/s.**
This statement is also not necessarily true. Again, the average speed of 3 m/s doesn't mean the ball maintained that speed throughout its descent. The ball could have varying speeds.
Taking all of the above into account, the only statement that must be true (and is consistent with the definition of average speed) is:
**At a certain point, the ball traveled faster than 3 m/s.**
Thus, the answer that must be true is the first option.