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 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 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 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 greater 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.

This is because kinetic energy is directly related to the height from which the ball is dropped. The potential energy at height is converted to kinetic energy as it falls, so a ball dropped from a higher height will have more energy upon impact with the ground.