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a dog and a squirrel run down a hill at the same speed. the dog has a mass of 6 kilograms. the squirrel has a mass of 1 kilogram. which anim
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Calantha
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Answer:
The dog will have a higher kinetic energy.
Explanation:
Kinetic energy (K.E) is simply defined as the energy an object possess in motion.
Mathematically, it expreessed as:
K.E = ½mv²
Where:
K.E is the kinetic energy.
m is the mass of the object.
v is the velocity of the object.
From the above equation, we can say that:
Kinetic energy is directly proportional to the mass of the object and also to the square of the velocity of the object.
Thus, object with higher mass will have a greater kinetic energy than object with lesser mass even if they have the same velocity.
From the question given above, the dog has a mass of 6 kg while the squirrel has a mass of 1 kg.
Since they have the same speed, the dog will have a higher kinetic energy because it has a higher mass than the squirrel.
Thus, we can further justify this concept as follow:
Let the speed of both animals be 2 m/s
Thus their kinetic energy can be obtained as follow:
For Dog:
Mass (m) = 6 kg
Velocity (v) = 2 m/s
Kinetic energy (K.E) =.?
K.E = ½mv²
K.E = ½ × 6 × (2)²
K.E = 3 × 4
K.E = 12J
Therefore, the kinetic energy of the dog is 12 J
For Squirrel:
Mass (m) = 1 kg
Velocity (v) = 2 m/s
Kinetic energy (K.E) =.?
K.E = ½mv²
K.E = ½ × 1 × (2)²
K.E = ½ × 1 × 4
K.E = 1 × 2
K.E = 2 J
Therefore, the kinetic energy of the squirrel is 2 J.
Summary:
Kinetic energy of dog = 12 J
Kinetic energy of squirrel = 2 J
From the above, we can see clearly that though both animals have the same speed, the dog has a higher kinetic energy than the squirrel because it has a higher mass.