Question

A ball falls from the top of a building. As it falls, its speed increases. Which type of energy is the ball gaining as it falls?

A. Light energy
B. Kinetic energy
C. Gravitational potential energy
D. Nuclear energy

Answer 1

Hello!

The answer is: B. Kinetic energy

Why?

Since the ball is falling, speed increases because the gravity acceleration is acting. When speed increases, the kinetic energy increases too, so the ball is gaining kinetic energy.

The gravity acceleration is equal to
`9.81(m)/(s^(2))`, it means that when falling, the ball will increase it's speed 9.81m every second.

We can calculate the kinetic energy by using the following formula:

`KE=(1)/(2)*m*v^(2)`

Where:

`m=mass\\v=velocity`

Have a nice day!