Question

Marina conducts an experiment investigating Newton’s first law of motion by sliding several objects across a smooth floor. The time in seconds it took for each object to travel 100 centimeters is recorded in the following table.

Newton’s First Law of Motion
Surface: Smooth Floor – Time in Seconds
Object Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
Toy 3.1 2.9 3.0 2.9 3.1
Block 3.2 3.0 3.6 3.3 3.4
Ball 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1
Pen 1.8 1.9 2.1 1.7 1.5
Which of the items had the fastest average speed over the five trials?

(1 point)
Responses

the Toy
the Toy

the Block
the Block

the Pen
the Pen

the Ball

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To determine which item had the fastest average speed over the five trials, we first need to calculate the average time for each object and then convert that time into speed.

The speed can be calculated using the formula:
\[ \text{Speed} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Time}} \]

Given that the distance is 100 centimeters (or 1 meter), we can also express the average speed in meters per second (m/s).

Let's calculate the average time for each object:

1. **Toy**:
- Average Time = (3.1 + 2.9 + 3.0 + 2.9 + 3.1) / 5 = 3.04 seconds

2. **Block**:
- Average Time = (3.2 + 3.0 + 3.6 + 3.3 + 3.4) / 5 = 3.3 seconds

3. **Ball**:
- Average Time = (2.3 + 2.1 + 2.2 + 2.1 + 2.1) / 5 = 2.16 seconds

4. **Pen**:
- Average Time = (1.8 + 1.9 + 2.1 + 1.7 + 1.5) / 5 = 1.80 seconds

Next, we calculate the average speed for each object:

1. **Toy**:
- Speed = 100 cm / 3.04 s = 32.89 cm/s

2. **Block**:
- Speed = 100 cm / 3.3 s = 30.30 cm/s

3. **Ball**:
- Speed = 100 cm / 2.16 s = 46.30 cm/s

4. **Pen**:
- Speed = 100 cm / 1.80 s = 55.56 cm/s

Now, let’s summarize the average speeds:

- Toy: 32.89 cm/s
- Block: 30.30 cm/s
- Ball: 46.30 cm/s
- Pen: 55.56 cm/s

The item with the fastest average speed over the five trials is the **Pen**.