Question

What is the kinetic energy of a 1700 kg car traveling at a speed of 30 m/s (â65 mph)? does your answer to part b depend on the car's mass?

Answer 1

The kinetic energy of an object is given by

`K= (1)/(2) mv^2`
where m is the mass of the object and v its velocity.

For the car in the problem,
`m=1700 kg` and
`v=30 m/s`, so the kinetic energy of the car is

`K= (1)/(2)mv^2= (1)/(2)(1700 kg)(30 m/s)^2=7.65\cdot 10^5 J`

and as we can see, yes, the answer depends on the car's mass.