Two buses are stopped side-by-side at a stoplight near the top of a hill. Bus A has a larger mass than Bus B because more people are riding on it. When the light turns green, both buses begin moving down the hill. How is energy being changed from one form to another as the bus travels downhill? If both buses are moving down the hill at the same speed, which will have more kinetic energy? Explain your response.

Question

Two buses are stopped side-by-side at a stoplight near the top of a hill. Bus A has a larger mass than Bus B because more people are riding on it. When the light turns green, both buses begin moving down the hill. How is energy being changed from one form to another as the bus travels downhill? If both buses are moving down the hill at the same speed, which will have more kinetic energy? Explain your response.

Please Help Mr. Sue

Answer 1

When the buses travel downhill, energy is being changed from potential energy to kinetic energy. Potential energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its position or state, and it depends on the object's mass and height. In this case, as the buses are at the top of the hill, they have potential energy due to their elevation.

As the buses start to move downhill, this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, which is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion. The gravitational force acting on the buses helps in accelerating them downhill, converting the potential energy into kinetic energy.

Now, let's discuss which bus will have more kinetic energy if both buses are moving downhill at the same speed. Kinetic energy depends on the mass and speed of an object. The formula for kinetic energy is KE = 1/2 * m * v^2, where m is the mass and v is the velocity (speed) of the object.

Although Bus A has a larger mass due to more people riding on it, it does not necessarily mean it will have more kinetic energy. The reason is that kinetic energy also depends on the velocity of the object. If both buses are moving down the hill at the same speed, their velocities (v) will be equal in the kinetic energy formula.

Therefore, since the velocities are the same, the mass (m) becomes the determining factor in comparing their kinetic energies. Because Bus A has a larger mass, it will indeed have more kinetic energy compared to Bus B.

To summarize, as the buses travel down the hill, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. If both buses are moving down the hill at the same speed, Bus A will have more kinetic energy due to its larger mass.