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
when the ball is at its highest point
when the ball leaves the person’s hand
at a point before the ball hits the ground
at a point when the ball is still rising
To determine at which point the kinetic energy of the ball is the lowest, we can analyze how kinetic energy changes during different phases of the ball's motion.
Kinetic energy is the energy of an object due to its motion and is directly related to its 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.
When the ball leaves the person's hand, it initially has a velocity of 0 because it hasn't started moving yet. Therefore, its kinetic energy is also 0 at this point.
As the ball rises, its velocity increases, and thus its kinetic energy increases. Therefore, the kinetic energy is not lowest when the ball is at its highest point, as it has gained velocity by that point.
As the ball falls back toward Earth, its velocity decreases, and hence its kinetic energy decreases as well. Therefore, the kinetic energy is lowest at a point right before the ball hits the ground.
Therefore, the correct option is:
at a point before the ball hits the ground.