Question

If a ball were equipped with a speedometer and allowed to fall freely on a planet where the acceleration due to gravity is 23 m/s^2, the reading on the speedometer would increase each second by

a. a rate that depends on its initial speed
b. 10 m/s
c. 12 m/s
d. 23 m/s
e. 46 m/s

Answer 1

The reading on the speedometer of a ball equipped with a speedometer and allowed to fall freely on a planet with an acceleration due to gravity of 23 m/s² would increase each second by 46 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

The reading on the speedometer of a ball equipped with a speedometer and allowed to fall freely on a planet with an acceleration due to gravity of 23 m/s² would increase each second by 46 m/s.

To understand why this is the case, we need to consider the concept of constant acceleration. When an object is in free-fall, its acceleration is equal to the acceleration due to gravity, which is a constant value on Earth. In this case, the acceleration due to gravity is 23 m/s². This means that every second, the velocity of the ball increases by 23 m/s. Since the ball is equipped with a speedometer, it would register this increase in velocity as a reading of 46 m/s each second.

It's important to note that this is the case when air resistance is negligible. If air resistance is a factor, it would affect the acceleration and the reading on the speedometer would not increase at a consistent rate.