A golf ball and a ping-pong ball are dropped in a vacuum chamber. When they have fallen halfway down, they have the same... A.speed B.potential energy
C.kinetic energy D.Rest Energy
my thought is that its c, kinetic energy...but i'm not 100% sure
A. speed
The correct answer is B. potential energy.
In a vacuum chamber, there is no air resistance, so both the golf ball and the ping-pong ball experience the same force due to gravity. As they fall halfway down, their potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.
Potential energy refers to the energy possessed by an object due to its position or state. At the halfway point, both balls are at the same height, so they have the same potential energy. Kinetic energy, on the other hand, refers to the energy an object possesses due to its motion, which is not the same for both balls at the halfway point.
Therefore, the correct answer is B. potential energy.
To determine the correct answer, let's analyze the options one by one:
A. Speed: Speed refers to how fast an object is moving. While the speed of the golf ball and the ping-pong ball may or may not be the same halfway down, this does not provide us with enough information to conclude that they have the same speed.
B. Potential Energy: Potential energy refers to the energy possessed by an object due to its position relative to other objects. As the golf ball and the ping-pong ball fall down, their potential energy decreases because they are moving closer to the ground. However, this does not necessarily imply that their potential energy will be the same halfway down.
C. Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion. When objects fall, their potential energy converts into kinetic energy. The faster an object is moving, the more kinetic energy it possesses. Since the golf ball and the ping-pong ball are falling in a vacuum chamber, where there are no external forces like air resistance acting on them, they will experience the same acceleration due to gravity. This means that their kinetic energy will be the same halfway down.
D. Rest Energy: Rest energy refers to the energy an object possesses when it is at rest. As the golf ball and the ping-pong ball fall, they are not at rest; therefore, it is unlikely that their rest energy will be the same halfway down.
Based on this analysis, C. Kinetic Energy is the most reasonable answer. The golf ball and the ping-pong ball will have the same kinetic energy when they are halfway down in the vacuum chamber.