Marla rolled a basketball into a soccer ball. The blue arrow represents the speed of the basketball as it rolled toward the soccer ball. After the collision, how did the speed of the two balls change? Note that the size of the arrow indicates the speed of the ball.

Question

(1 point)
Responses

After the collision, the basketball stops. The soccer ball moves forward with greater speed.

After the collision, both balls move in the same forward direction. The basketball has a greater speed after the collision than the soccer ball.

After the collision, the basketball moves backward and the soccer ball moves forward. The basketball has less speed than the soccer ball.

After the collision, both balls move in the same forward direction. The basketball has less speed than the soccer ball.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

In a typical collision scenario between two objects, such as a basketball and a soccer ball, several factors—including their masses and the nature of the collision—affect how their velocities change.

In this case, since the basketball is rolling toward the soccer ball, it likely has greater momentum. Upon collision, a typical outcome would be:

The basketball, being a larger object, will either come to a stop or lose some speed, depending on the exact conditions and masses.
The soccer ball, being a smaller and lighter object, will be set into motion with a greater speed than it initially had, gaining speed from the momentum transferred from the basketball.

Given these considerations, the best choice from the provided options appears to be:

After the collision, the basketball stops. The soccer ball moves forward with greater speed.

This response captures the key aspects of momentum transfer and speed changes due to the collision.