If you have two objects, one four times heavier then the other, both at rest on a frictionless surface, and a person pushes against them for a distance of 5 meters. Assuming the force applied on both objects are equal, the kinetic enrgy of the light object is?

I say one-quarter of the heavier car

1 answer

They will have the same KE (if pushed separately), since the same amount of work will have been done on each.

If one has 1/4 of the mass, the V^2 of the lighter object will be 4 times higher. That means its speed will be twice the other.