Question

g Two identical toy cars are held at rest on top of identical ramps. Car A rolls down the ramp, through a loop and then moves along a horizontal surface. Car B starts from rest at the same height, but it does NOT complete the loop. It is found that Car B has a faster speed at the finish line than Car A. What is the BEST explanation for why

Answer 1

The kinetic energy of Car B is greater than the kinetic energy of Car A at the finish line.

Step-by-step explanation:

Both objects have the same kinetic energy at the bottom of the ramp since the ramps are identical. Since Car A passes through the loop, it losses kinetic energy before it gets to the horizontal road and thus decreasing its speed. Car B does not go through the loop so its speed as it gets to the horizontal surface is its speed at the bottom of the ramp.

As both cars move on the horizontal surface, their speed decrease further but since Car B starts with a greater speed than Car A on the horizontal surface, it will end with a greater speed than Car A at the finish line.

This is because, the kinetic energy of Car B is greater than the kinetic energy of Car A at the finish line.