Question

A bowling ball is dropped off of the side of a building. Ignore the effects of air resistance. As the ball continues to fall freely, the kinetic energy of the ball A. Decreases. B. Equals zero. C. Remains the same. D. Increases.

Answer 1

D. Increases.

Step-by-step explanation:

The kinetic energy of the ball is given by:

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

where

m is the mass of the ball

v is the speed of the ball

We see that the kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the speed. As the ball continues to fall, its speed increases (because the ball has a constant acceleration, g=9.8 m/s^2, the acceleration due to gravity), so its kinetic energy also increases.