when a baseball is at rest and then it thrown. What is the relationship between the potential and kinetic energy?

Answer 1

When a baseball is at rest, it possesses only potential energy if it is elevated above the ground level (gravitational potential energy) and no kinetic energy, since it is not moving. As the baseball is thrown, the situation changes significantly.

1. Potential Energy (PE): If the baseball is held above the ground before being thrown, it has gravitational potential energy that depends on its height above the ground. The formula for gravitational potential energy is:

   \[ PE = mgh \]

   where \(m\) is the mass of the baseball, \(g\) is the acceleration due to gravity, and \(h\) is the height above the ground.

2. Kinetic Energy (KE): As the baseball is thrown, it starts to move, and thus it begins to acquire kinetic energy. The formula for kinetic energy is:

   \[ KE = \frac{1}{2} mv^2 \]

   where \(m\) is the mass of the baseball and \(v\) is its velocity.

Relationship during the Throw

• When the baseball is at rest, all of its potential energy (if elevated) is simply gravitational, and kinetic energy is zero.
• As it is thrown, the player does work on the baseball, converting potential energy (if applicable) and the energy exerted by the player's muscles into kinetic energy. The baseball accelerates, and its kinetic energy increases as its speed increases.
• At the point of release, the energy has transferred: a significant portion of the energy from the athletic action has converted into kinetic energy.
• If we consider an ideal scenario without air resistance and other losses, the total mechanical energy (the sum of potential and kinetic energy) remains constant, as stated by the law of conservation of energy, provided only conservative forces (like gravity) are doing work.

Conclusion

In summary, when a baseball is thrown, potential energy (if any) converts to kinetic energy due to the work done by the thrower. The relationship between the two energies changes dynamically during the throw, with a transfer from potential energy to kinetic energy as the baseball moves from rest to motion. At the moment of release, kinetic energy is maximized (assuming negligible height), while potential energy at that instance is generally minimized unless the ball is thrown upward.

Answer 2

So is it,
A. As the balls potential energy decreases its kinetic energy increases
B. As the ball potential energy decreases its kinetic energy Decreases
C. As the balls potential energy increases it’s kinetic energy increases
D. As the ball potential energy increases its kinetic energy decreases

Answer 3

The correct answer is:

A. As the ball's potential energy decreases, its kinetic energy increases.

This statement reflects the principle of conservation of energy: as the baseball is thrown and moves down (or forward, if we consider a horizontal throw), it converts potential energy (if initially elevated) into kinetic energy, causing its kinetic energy to increase as its potential energy decreases.