Kinetic Energy to Mass and Speed

Car A has a mass of 1500 kg and is moving at 89 miles per hour.

Car B has a mass of 1501 kg and is moving at 28 miles per hour.

Which statement below best describes the kinetic energy of each car?

• Car A has more energy than Car B because it is traveling faster than Car B.

• Car A has more energy than Car B because it has a smaller mass than Car B.

• Car B has more energy than Car A because it has a bigger mass than Car A.

• Both cards have about the same energy because they have about the same mass.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS3-2

A wrecking ball is swinging towards a building that needs to be knocked down. If you wanted to make the wrecking ball hit the building with more kinetic energy, what could you change?

• Use a wrecking ball with a bigger mass.

• Use a wrecking ball with a smaller mass.

• Decrease the speed of the wrecking ball.

• None of the above, the kinetic energy cannot be changed.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS3-1

NGSS.HS-PS3-3

Which of the following would have the most kinetic energy? Pick the best answer.

• A motorcycle driving at 100 miles per hour.

• A very small car driving at 125 miles per hour.

• .A huge train driving a 125 miles per hour.

• A huge truck driving at 3 miles per hour.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

Two bowling balls have a mass of 5 kilograms. The black ball is traveling towards the pins at 6 meters per second. The yellow ball is traveling at 8 meters per second. Which bowling ball has the most kinetic energy, and why?

• The yellow bowling ball has the most kinetic energy because it has the most mass.

• The black bowling ball has the most kinetic energy because it has the most mass.

• The yellow bowling ball has the most kinetic energy because it has the faster speed.

• Both bowling balls have the same kinetic energy because they have the same mass.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

Two asteroids in space are heading straight towards Earth.

Asteroid A is traveling at 100 miles per hour.

Asteroid B is traveling at 60 miles per hour.

What additional information do you need to know to figure out how much kinetic energy each asteroid will have when they hit Earth?

• The mass of the asteroids

• How far each asteroid is from Earth

• The density of Earth

• The speed that each asteroid is moving

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS3-1

NGSS.HS-PS3-2

How do mass and speed relate to kinetic energy?

• As mass and speed go up, the kinetic energy of an object increases.

• As mass and speed go down, the kinetic energy of an object increases.

• Increasing mass decreases kinetic energy. Increasing speed increases kinetic energy.

• Increasing mass increases kinetic energy. Decreasing speed increases kinetic energy.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS3-2