Two clowns are launched from the same spring-loaded circus cannon with the spring compressed the same distance each time.Clown A has a 40-kg mass;clown B a 60-kg mass.The relation between their kinetic energies at the instant of launch is A) . B) . C)K_A = K_B. D) . E) .

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The kinetic energy of an object is given by K= 0.5mv^2, where m is the mass of the object and v is its velocity. Since both clowns are launched from the same cannon with the same spring compression, they both have the same initial velocity. Therefore, the kinetic energy depends only on their masses. Kinetic energy is directly proportional to the mass of the object. The relation between the kinetic energies of Clown A and Clown B is given by: KA/KB= (0.5 x 40 x v^2)/(0.5 x 60 x v^2) KA/KB= (40/60) KA/KB= (2/3) KA= (2/3)KB This means that the kinetic energy of Clown A is two-thirds of that of Clown B, or in other words, the kinetic energies of the two clowns are in the ratio of 2:3. This can be simplified to: KA/KB = 2:3 or KA/K_A = KB/K_B which is the same as choice C.

Two Clowns Are Launched from the Same Spring-Loaded Circus Cannon