Ball A was carried to the top of a hill in a straight line, while ball B was carried in a longer, zigzag path. At the top of the hill, both balls were left at rest. A student draws a graph that depicts each ball's final potential energy. Which statement describes the final potential energy of the balls?(1 point)

Question

Ball A was carried to the top of a hill in a straight line, while ball B was carried in a longer, zigzag path. At the top of the hill, both balls were left at rest. A student draws a graph that depicts each ball's final potential energy. Which statement describes the final potential energy of the balls?(1 point)
Responses

Ball A has more potential energy.
Ball A has more potential energy.

Both balls have equal potential energy.
Both balls have equal potential energy.

Ball B has more potential energy.
Ball B has more potential energy.

Neither

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The correct statement is: **Both balls have equal potential energy.** Potential energy depends on the height of the objects above a reference point (usually ground level) and their mass. If both balls reach the same height at the top of the hill and have the same mass, they will have the same final potential energy, regardless of the path taken to get there.