When a person throws a ball up into the air, and the ball falls back toward Earth, the kinetic energy will be the lowest when the ball is at its highest point (option A).
Kinetic energy is given by:
[tex] K = \frac{1}{2}mv^{2} [/tex]
Where:
m: is the mass
v: is the velocity
So, the kinetic energy is proportional to the velocity and the mass of the object.
When the person throws the ball up into the air, the ball will move upward to a maximum height and then will move down until it hits the ground.
From the statements:
A) When the ball is at its highest point, the velocity will be zero, so the kinetic energy will be zero.
B) When the ball rises, the velocity decreases, so the kinetic energy will also decrease.
C) When the ball leaves the person's hand, it has an initial velocity that is the highest, so the kinetic energy has at this point, the maximum value.
D) Before the ball hits the ground, the ball's velocity has the same value (in magnitude) as the initial value (when the ball leaves the person's hand), so the kinetic energy will be the highest at this point (like statement C).
Therefore, the kinetic energy will be the lowest when the ball is at its highest point (option A).
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