A person throws a ball up into the air, and the ball falls back toward Earth. At which point would the kinetic energy be the lowest?(1 point)
Responses
at a point when the ball is still rising
at a point when the ball is still rising
when the ball leaves the person’s hand
when the ball leaves the person’s hand
when the ball is at its highest point
when the ball is at its highest point
at a point before the ball hits the ground
at a point before the ball hits the ground
The kinetic energy of the ball would be the lowest at a point before the ball hits the ground.
The correct answer is "at a point before the ball hits the ground."
To understand why, let's first define what kinetic energy is. Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion. It depends on both the mass of the object and its velocity. As the ball is thrown up into the air, it gains potential energy as it moves against the force of gravity. This potential energy is converted into kinetic energy as the ball falls back towards the Earth.
When the ball is still rising, its velocity is increasing, meaning its kinetic energy is also increasing. So, the kinetic energy is not at its lowest point at this time.
When the ball leaves the person's hand, it initially has zero velocity and zero kinetic energy. So, this is not the lowest point of kinetic energy either.
When the ball is at its highest point, it momentarily stops moving before reversing its direction. At this point, its velocity is zero, and therefore its kinetic energy is also zero. However, since the ball has no kinetic energy, it is not considered a "lowest" point, as there is no positive value to compare it to.
The lowest point of kinetic energy is reached just before the ball hits the ground. At this point, the ball's velocity is at its maximum, and since kinetic energy depends on velocity, the kinetic energy is the highest at this point compared to any other point during the ball's motion.