Asked by ABAINEH
One person drops a ball from the top of a building while another person at the bottom observers its motion. The two people DISAGREE on which of the following?
A. The value of total energy of the ball B. The change in potential energy of the ball
C. The value of the gravitational potential energy of the ball earth system D. The kinetic energy of the ball at some point in its motion if one of them is walking.
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
D.
Kinetic energy depends on the observer’s frame (K = 1/2 mv^2), so if one observer is walking they assign a different speed and thus a different KE to the ball. The change in gravitational potential energy depends only on the vertical displacement (ΔU = mgΔh) so both agree on it. The absolute value of U has an arbitrary zero (only differences matter). (Note: total mechanical energy would also change with frame because K changes, but the multiple‑choice option that directly describes the frame dependence is D.)
Kinetic energy depends on the observer’s frame (K = 1/2 mv^2), so if one observer is walking they assign a different speed and thus a different KE to the ball. The change in gravitational potential energy depends only on the vertical displacement (ΔU = mgΔh) so both agree on it. The absolute value of U has an arbitrary zero (only differences matter). (Note: total mechanical energy would also change with frame because K changes, but the multiple‑choice option that directly describes the frame dependence is D.)
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