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Which of the following would change mass as it accelerated? a bullet being shot out of a gun a roller skater pushing off a jet plane taking off a bowling ball slowing down

User Anthony Aslangul
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2 Answers

17 votes
17 votes

Final answer:

Mass does not change as an object accelerates in classical physics. Situations involving bullets, roller skaters, jets, and bowling balls don't result in mass changes. Systems with non-constant mass are typically like rockets that lose mass during fuel burn, not due to acceleration.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question at hand is about the concept of mass and how it might change as an object accelerates. In classical physics, mass is a property of an object that does not change regardless of its speed or acceleration; it is a scalar quantity measuring the amount of matter in an object. None of the scenarios provided in the question - a bullet being shot out of a gun, a roller skater pushing off, a jet plane taking off, or a bowling ball slowing down - would result in a change in the object's mass due to acceleration under classical physics.

However, if we consider relativistic physics, which becomes relevant at speeds close to the speed of light, mass could be seen as increasing; but none of these examples approach such speeds. Systems with non-constant mass generally involve scenarios where mass is physically added or removed from the system, such as a rocket losing mass as it burns fuel.

Regarding the provided information:

A car rounding a bend at a constant speed is changing direction, but not mass.

A merry-go-round increases from rest to a constant rotational speed involves acceleration but not change in mass.

A pendulum swings back and forth has changing kinetic and potential energy, but constant mass.

A bowling ball rolls down a bowling alley undergoes acceleration due to gravity, yet the mass remains constant.

In the additional example provided, mass A sliding on a rough table slows down before colliding with and sticking to mass B. This demonstrates a change in momentum and velocity but not in the masses of either object.

In the discussion about falling objects and roller coasters, it emphasizes that in the absence of friction, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass, which further supports the idea that mass does not change due to acceleration or the path taken during motion.

User Mah
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24 votes
24 votes

Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

A bullet being shot out of a gun tends to leave tiny amounts of the bullet behind due to friction between the bullet and the gun barrel.

A roller skater pushing requires the conversion of food chemical energy to muscle contraction energy. This conversion increases the body temperature and sweat is excreted to counteract the heat increase. The evaporation of the sweat causes a slight decrease in body mass.

A jet plane taking off consumes some of the fuel carried onboard to provide thrust. The products of combustion become part of the exhaust stream leaving the airplane rearward providing forward thrust.

User Br Araujo
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