The student says that a ball dropped from a height of 3.0 meters would have less than 96 joules of kinetic energy when it hits the ground. Is she correct and why?
A. She is correct because the higher the ball is dropped from, the less kinetic energy it will have when it hits the ground.
B. She is correct because the higher the ball is dropped from, the greater kinetic energy it will have when it hits the ground.
C. She is incorrect because the higher the ball is dropped from, the greater kinetic energy it will have when it hits the ground.
D. She is incorrect because the higher the ball is dropped from, the less kinetic energy it will have when it hits the ground.
D. She is incorrect because the higher the ball is dropped from, the less kinetic energy it will have when it hits the ground.
Kinetic energy is the energy of a moving object and is directly proportional to its mass and the square of its velocity. The height from which the ball is dropped does not affect its mass or its velocity when it hits the ground, so it does not affect the kinetic energy. Regardless of the height from which the ball is dropped, if no other external factors are present, the kinetic energy when it hits the ground will be the same.
D. She is incorrect because the higher the ball is dropped from, the greater kinetic energy it will have when it hits the ground.
The kinetic energy of an object depends on its mass and its velocity. When a ball is dropped from a higher height, it gains more potential energy, which is converted into kinetic energy as it falls. This means that the ball will have greater kinetic energy when it hits the ground compared to if it were dropped from a lower height. Therefore, the student is incorrect in stating that a ball dropped from a height of 3.0 meters would have less than 96 joules of kinetic energy when it hits the ground.