Which situation would be appropriate for the transfer of energy from kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy?
A) a skateboarder going down a ramp and speeding up
B) a car accelerating from a stop on a flat road
C) a ball being dropped off of a cliff
D) a ball being launched from the ground to its apex
D) a ball being launched from the ground to its apex is correct
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C) a ball being dropped off of a cliff
Because who doesn't want to see a ball embrace its inner daredevil and become the next extreme sport sensation? The gravitational potential energy is just waiting at the bottom of that cliff, ready to catch the ball and show it a good time. It's like a trust fall with physics!
The situation that is appropriate for the transfer of energy from kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy is:
C) a ball being dropped off of a cliff
When the ball is dropped from the cliff, it initially has kinetic energy due to its movement. As it falls under the influence of gravity, its kinetic energy decreases, and its gravitational potential energy increases. At the lowest point, when the ball is closest to the ground, all of its kinetic energy is converted into gravitational potential energy.
The situation that would be appropriate for the transfer of energy from kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy is option C) a ball being dropped off of a cliff.
To understand why this is the correct answer, we need to understand the relationship between kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy.
Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion. It depends on the mass of the object (m) and its velocity (v) according to the equation: KE = 0.5 * m * v^2.
Gravitational potential energy, on the other hand, is the energy possessed by an object due to its position relative to the Earth's gravitational field. It depends on the mass of the object (m), the acceleration due to gravity (g), and the height above a reference point (h) according to the equation: GPE = m * g * h.
In situation C), a ball is being dropped off a cliff. As the ball falls, its height (h) decreases, which means the gravitational potential energy decreases. At the same time, its velocity (v) increases due to acceleration caused by gravity. Therefore, the ball's kinetic energy increases as it falls.
This situation exemplifies the transfer of energy from gravitational potential energy (at the top of the cliff) to kinetic energy (as it falls down). So, option C) is the appropriate situation for the transfer of energy from kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy.