Question

Ms. Sullivan's class is investigating simple machines. They built a ramp to roll tennis balls down and measured how far they rolled. The tennis balls released at the top of the ramp all traveled about the same distance. If they wanted the balls to roll even further, what could they do?

A. Build a ramp that is taller.
B. Build a ramp that is shorter.
C. Use tournament grade tennis balls.
D. Try the experiment in a different hallway.

Answer 1

To make the tennis balls roll further, Ms. Sullivan's class should build a taller ramp to increase potential energy, resulting in greater kinetic energy and further distance traveled.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Ms. Sullivan's class investigating simple machines, they discovered that the tennis balls released from a ramp traveled about the same distance. To make the balls roll further down the ramp, the appropriate approach is to build a ramp that is taller (Option A). Increasing the height of the ramp would increase the potential energy at the top, which upon release, would get converted to kinetic energy, allowing the ball to roll further. Options B, C, and D are unlikely to affect the distance significantly. A shorter ramp would reduce the potential energy, tournament grade tennis balls might only slightly alter the rolling due to their construction, and trying the experiment in a different hallway would not change the physics of the balls' motion.