Question

A ball is thrown off the top of a building and lands on the ground below.

Which quantities are needed to determine the kinetic energy of the ball just before it hits the ground?

Answer 1

Mass and velocity.

Step-by-step explanation:

Kinetic energy is the energy that an object has due to its movement, mathematically it is represented as follows:

`K=(1)/(2) mv^2`

where
`m` is the mass of the object, and
`v` is its velocity at a given point in time.

So we can see that to find the kinetic energy just before the ball hits the gound, we need the quantities:

• mass of the ball
• velocity of the ball before it hits the ground

With the knowledge of these two quantities the kinetic energy of the ball before touching the gound can be determined.