To determine which object has the greatest kinetic energy, we can use the formula for kinetic energy (KE):
\[ KE = \frac{1}{2}mv^2 \]
where \( m \) is the mass of the object and \( v \) is its velocity.
We can calculate the kinetic energy for each car:
-
Blue car:
- Mass \( m = 500 \) kg
- Velocity \( v = 30 \) m/s
- \( KE = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times (30)^2 = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times 900 = 225000 \) J
-
Green car:
- Mass \( m = 500 \) kg
- Velocity \( v = 21 \) m/s
- \( KE = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times (21)^2 = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times 441 = 110250 \) J
-
Yellow car:
- Mass \( m = 500 \) kg
- Velocity \( v = 12 \) m/s
- \( KE = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times (12)^2 = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times 144 = 36000 \) J
-
Red car:
- Mass \( m = 500 \) kg
- Velocity \( v = 3 \) m/s
- \( KE = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times (3)^2 = \frac{1}{2} \times 500 \times 9 = 1125 \) J
Now, comparing the kinetic energies:
- Blue car: 225000 J
- Green car: 110250 J
- Yellow car: 36000 J
- Red car: 1125 J
The blue car has the greatest kinetic energy of 225000 J.