Final answer:
The object with the higher speed will have more kinetic energy when two objects have equal masses. This is due to the kinetic energy being dependent on the square of the object's velocity.
Step-by-step explanation:
If two objects with equal masses are in motion, the object with the higher speed will have more kinetic energy. Therefore, the correct answer to which object will have more kinetic energy is (a) The faster one.
To understand this, you should be aware of the formula for kinetic energy (KE), which is KE = 1/2 m v^2, where m is the mass, and v is the velocity of the object. Since both objects have equal masses (m), the kinetic energy depends solely on the velocity (v). As the velocity increases, the kinetic energy also increases proportionally to the square of the velocity.
Take the example of two runners with the same mass. If one runner is moving twice as fast as the other, the faster runner would have four times the kinetic energy, because kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the speed.