Question

Taryn is playing with a bouncy ball. She notices that the ball seems to travel faster on its way back toward the ground than on its way up into the sky. Why would the ball go slower moving away from the ground?

A.
because the ball must move against the force of Earth's gravitational field on the way up

B.
because the ball must move against the force of Earth's magnetic field on the way up

C.
because the ball moves with the friction force of air molecules on the way down

D.
because the ball moves with the elastic force of air molecules on the way down

Answer 1

A.

The ball slows as it rises because it must work against Earth's gravitational force (gravity decelerates upward motion and accelerates downward motion). Air resistance also acts, but it opposes the motion in both directions, so it doesn't make the ball faster going down.