Louis and Keisha each dropped stones from different heights onto pieces of clay to see how much the clay would be compacted. Louis dropped his stone onto a small piece of clay and noticed that the clay was smashed a lot. Keisha dropped her stone onto a large piece of clay and noticed that the clay was compacted very little.
Should Louis and Keisha conclude that Louis’s stone had more kinetic energy when it hit the clay? Explain why.
To determine whether Louis's stone had more kinetic energy when it hit the clay, we need to understand the factors that contribute to kinetic energy.
Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object in motion and depends on its mass and velocity. The formula for kinetic energy is KE = (1/2)mv^2, where m represents the mass of the object and v represents its velocity.
In this scenario, the stone dropped by Louis smashed the clay a lot, indicating that it had the ability to transfer more energy to the clay. Meanwhile, the stone dropped by Keisha only compacted the clay slightly, implying that it transferred less energy.
Now, let's compare the kinetic energy of the stones. Since both stones are dropped from different heights, their velocities upon impact may differ. However, the key point to note here is that the mass of the stones is not mentioned in the question. Without knowing the masses of the stones, it is difficult to conclude which stone had more kinetic energy based purely on the information provided.
In conclusion, without the mass values of the stones, we cannot definitively determine which stone had more kinetic energy upon impact.