Question

1. curling is a sport in which players push large stones across smooth ice. three curling stones that have the same mass were sliding across the ice. they were each pushed by a player, but not all from the same direction. each curling stone changed speed as a result of being hit. use the information in the diagram to answer.

which curling stone(s) experienced the strongest force when hit? how do you know?
a. the blue curling stone experienced the strongest force because it takes a stronger force to slow something down than it takes to speed something up
b. the blue curling stone experienced the strongest force because it changed speed the most.
c. the orange curling stone experienced the strongest force because it has the fastest ending speed.
d. the yellow and orange curling stones experienced the same strength force because they both gained force, but the blue curling stone lost force

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the speed change for each stone

• For the blue stone: The initial speed is \(16m/s\) and the final speed is \(9m/s\). The change in speed \(\Delta v_{blue}=|9 - 16|=7m/s\)
• For the orange stone: The initial speed is \(21m/s\) and the final speed is \(26m/s\). The change in speed \(\Delta v_{orange}=|26 - 21| = 5m/s\)
• For the yellow stone: The initial speed is \(4m/s\) and the final speed is \(8m/s\). The change in speed \(\Delta v_{yellow}=|8 - 4|=4m/s\)

According to Newton's second law \(F = ma\) (where \(m\) is mass and \(a=\frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}\), and assuming \(\Delta t\) is the same for all collisions as the time of interaction is the same for the event of being hit). Since \(m\) is the same for all stones (given in the problem), the force is directly proportional to the change in velocity.

Step2: Analyze each option

• Option a: There is no physical principle that says slowing down requires a stronger force than speeding up when mass and time of force - application are considered. The force is related to the change in velocity (\(F=\frac{m\Delta v}{\Delta t}\)), not just the direction of velocity change.
• Option b: Since \(\Delta v_{blue}(7m/s)>\Delta v_{orange}(5m/s)>\Delta v_{yellow}(4m/s)\) and \(F=\frac{m\Delta v}{\Delta t}\) (\(m\) and \(\Delta t\) constant), the blue stone has the largest change in velocity, so it experiences the strongest force.
• Option c: The ending speed does not determine the force. The force is related to the change in velocity, not the final velocity.
• Option d: The force is related to the change in velocity (\(\Delta v\)), not just whether the speed increased or decreased.

Answer:

B. The blue curling stone experienced the strongest force because it changed speed the most.