A couple of soccer balls of equal mass are kicked off the ground at the same spe

Question

A couple of soccer balls of equal mass are kicked off the ground at the same speed, but
at different angles. Soccer ball A is kicked off at an angle slightly above the horizontal,
whereas ball B is kicked slightly below the vertical.
(a) How does the initial kinetic energy of ball A compare to the initial kinetic energy
of ball B?
(b) How does the change in gravitational potential energy from the ground to the
highest point for ball A compare to the change in gravitational potential energy
from the ground to the highest point for ball B?
(c) If the energy in part (a) di ers from the energy in part (b), explain why there is a
di erence between the two energies.

Explanation / Answer

a] Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity and therefore it only depends on the speed [not the angle]

Since the masses and the speed are same for both A and B, the initial kinetic energy of A and B are same.

b]

The change in gravitational potential energy is again a scalar quantity and so as long as the initial speed is same, the change in gravitational potential energy will also be the same [though they may not occur at the same horizontal position].

therefore, from the ground to the highest point of both A and B, both will have same potential energy.

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