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A ball is dropped from rest at the top of a 8.60-m-tall building, falls straight downward, collides inelastically with the ground. and bounces back. The ball loses 10.2% of its kinetic energy every time it collides with the ground. How many bounces can the ball make and still reach a windowsill that is 2.37 m above the ground?

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Final answer:

When a ball bounces off a hard surface, it loses kinetic energy due to the collision. This loss of energy can be explained by the concept of energy conservation and factors such as the elasticity of the ball and the surface it bounces off.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a ball bounces off a hard surface, it loses kinetic energy due to the collision. This is because some of the energy is converted into other forms, such as heat and sound.

The loss of kinetic energy can be explained by the concept of energy conservation. According to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed. When the ball collides with the floor, some of its kinetic energy is transferred to the floor as it compresses, and some is transformed into other forms of energy.

The loss of kinetic energy during the collision is also influenced by factors such as the elasticity of the ball and the surface it bounces off. In the case of an inelastic collision, like the one described in the question, the ball loses a predetermined amount of kinetic energy with each bounce.

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