A student is testing how mass impacts kinetic energy. From the same height on a diving board, she drops two
balls into a swimming pool. One ball has a bigger mass than the other.
a. How would the splashes of the two balls compare?
• The ball with the higher mass would make a bigger splash.
• The balls would make splashes of the same size.
• The size of the splash is independent of the mass of the ball.
• The ball with the lower mass would make a bigger splash.
The ball with the higher mass would make a bigger splash.
The ball with the higher mass would make a bigger splash.
To understand how mass impacts the splashes of the balls, we need to consider the concept of kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy that an object possesses due to its motion. It depends on both the mass and the velocity of the object.
In this scenario, since both balls are dropped from the same height on the diving board, we can assume that they have the same initial velocity. Therefore, the only difference between the two balls is their masses.
According to the law of conservation of energy, the potential energy of an object at a certain height is converted into kinetic energy as it falls. When the balls hit the water, their kinetic energy is transferred to the water, resulting in a splash.
Now let's consider the options:
a. The ball with the higher mass would make a bigger splash.
This option is correct. Since kinetic energy depends on mass, the ball with higher mass will have more kinetic energy. When it hits the water, more kinetic energy will be transferred to the water, resulting in a bigger splash.
b. The balls would make splashes of the same size.
This option is incorrect. As explained earlier, the kinetic energy depends on mass. If the masses of the balls are different, their kinetic energies will also be different, resulting in different splash sizes.
c. The size of the splash is independent of the mass of the ball.
This option is incorrect. As explained above, the size of the splash depends on the kinetic energy, which in turn depends on mass.
d. The ball with the lower mass would make a bigger splash.
This option is incorrect. According to the law of conservation of energy, lower mass means lower kinetic energy, resulting in a smaller splash.
Therefore, the correct answer is: The ball with the higher mass would make a bigger splash.