Two objects of same material are travelling near you. Object A is a 1.5 kg mass traveling 13.5 m/s; object B is a 2 kg mass traveling 5 m/s.
Which object would make you feel worse if
you are hit by it?
1. B
2. A
3. Unable to determine
4. the same
To determine which object would make you feel worse if you were hit by it, we need to consider the concepts of momentum and kinetic energy.
Momentum (p) is defined as the product of an object's mass (m) and its velocity (v):
p = m * v
Kinetic energy (KE) is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion and is given by the equation:
KE = 0.5 * m * v^2
Comparing the two objects, we can calculate the momentum and kinetic energy for each:
For Object A:
Mass (mA) = 1.5 kg
Velocity (vA) = 13.5 m/s
For Object B:
Mass (mB) = 2 kg
Velocity (vB) = 5 m/s
Now, let's calculate the momentum for both objects:
Momentum of Object A (pA) = mA * vA
= 1.5 kg * 13.5 m/s
= 20.25 kg·m/s
Momentum of Object B (pB) = mB * vB
= 2 kg * 5 m/s
= 10 kg·m/s
The momentum of an object represents its resistance to change in motion. Therefore, the higher the momentum, the greater the force it would exert on you if you were hit.
Since Object A has a higher momentum (20.25 kg·m/s) compared to Object B (10 kg·m/s), Object A would make you feel worse if you were hit by it.
Therefore, the correct answer is: 2. A