A student drops a ball three different times.

Question

The table shows the ball’s kinetic energy upon hitting the ground from different heights.

The student claims that a ball dropped 3.0 meters would have fewer than 96 joules of kinetic energy upon hitting the ground. Is she correct? Why?

(1 point)
Responses

She is wrong. The higher the drop, the less kinetic the ball will have upon hitting the ground.
She is wrong. The higher the drop, the less kinetic the ball will have upon hitting the ground.

She is right! The higher the drop, the less kinetic energy the ball will have upon hitting the ground.
She is right! The higher the drop, the less kinetic energy the ball will have upon hitting the ground.

She is right! The higher the drop, the greater kinetic the ball will have upon hitting the ground.
She is right! The higher the drop, the greater kinetic the ball will have upon hitting the ground.

She is wrong. The higher the drop, the more kinetic energy the ball will have upon hitting the ground.
She is wrong. The higher the drop, the more kinetic energy the ball will have upon hitting the ground.
Skip to navigation

Answer 1

The correct response is:

She is wrong. The higher the drop, the more kinetic energy the ball will have upon hitting the ground.

This is because the potential energy of the ball due to its height converts to kinetic energy as it falls. The higher the drop, the more potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, resulting in more kinetic energy upon hitting the ground. Therefore, a ball dropped from 3.0 meters would have more than 96 joules of kinetic energy if that value corresponds to the kinetic energy derived from a lower height.