A student drops a ball three different times. 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 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. She is wrong. The higher the drop, the less kinetic the ball will have upon hitting the ground.

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.

Here's the reasoning: The kinetic energy of an object when it hits the ground is determined by its potential energy at the height it was dropped from, which can be calculated using the formula \( PE = mgh \) (where \( m \) is mass, \( g \) is acceleration due to gravity, and \( h \) is the height). As the height increases, so does the potential energy, which converts to kinetic energy just before it hits the ground. Therefore, a ball dropped from a greater height, such as 3.0 meters, will have more kinetic energy than if dropped from a lower height. Thus, the student’s claim that the ball would have fewer than 96 joules of kinetic energy is incorrect.