Question

yoko: i think the ball has no energy because it is not moving. caleb: i think the ball has no energy because no forces are acting on it. kawasi: i think the ball has energy but less energy than if it was sitting on the ground because it is farther away from earths surface. sonia: i think the ball has more energy than if it was sitting on the ground because it is farther away from earths surface. who do you most agree with? explain your thinking about how energy relates to the ball.

Explanation:

• Yoko: Incorrect. A stationary object can have potential energy (e.g., gravitational potential energy if it is at a height above the ground).
• Caleb: Incorrect. Just because no forces are acting on it (assuming ideal conditions, but in reality, on Earth, gravity acts on it), it can still have potential energy.
• Kawasi: Correct. Gravitational potential energy \(U = mgh\) (where \(m\) is mass, \(g\) is acceleration due to gravity, \(h\) is height). As the height \(h\) from the Earth's surface increases, the gravitational potential energy increases. So a ball farther away from the Earth's surface has more energy (gravitational potential energy) than when it is on the ground.
• Sonia: Incorrect. The statement is a bit off - it's the height (distance from the Earth's surface) that directly relates to gravitational potential energy, not just a general "more energy" without proper qualification.

Answer:

Kawasi. Because gravitational potential energy \(U = mgh\), and as the ball is farther away from the Earth's surface (\(h\) increases), its gravitational potential energy (a form of energy) increases compared to when it is on the ground (\(h = 0\) for the ground level in a simple model).