Question

This diagram shows a baseball’s motion.

A baseball is shown at 5 positions along an arc from left to right. A is far left and C is center, with B halfway between A and C. E is far right with D halfway between C and E.
Which statement is best supported by the diagram?

Kinetic energy becomes potential energy between points R and S.
Maximum potential energy is at point P.
Maximum potential energy is at point R.
Potential energy becomes kinetic energy between points P and Q.

Answer 1

There’s a mismatch between the diagram letters (A–E) you described and the answer choices (which use P–S). Based on the A–E diagram you gave, the physics is this:

- The highest positions (A and E) have the greatest gravitational potential energy.
- The lowest position (C) has the greatest kinetic energy.
- As the ball moves from A toward C, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy; as it moves from C toward E, kinetic energy is converted into potential energy.

So the statement that matches the diagram is the one that says potential energy becomes kinetic as the ball moves from a high point toward the center (e.g., “potential energy becomes kinetic between P and Q” if P corresponds to a high point like A and Q to the center C). If you can tell me how P, Q, R, S correspond to A–E I’ll pick the exact choice.