Question

How much would the kinetic energy of an object decrease if you reduced its mass in half but not its speed?

Answer 1

The kinetic energy (KE) of an object is calculated using the following formula:

KE = 0.5 * m * v^2

Where:
- KE is the kinetic energy
- m is the mass of the object
- v is the speed (velocity) of the object

If you reduce the mass (m) of an object by half but keep its speed (v) constant, the new kinetic energy (KE') would be:

KE' = 0.5 * (m/2) * v^2
KE' = 0.25 * m * v^2

So, the kinetic energy would decrease to one-fourth (25%) of its original value if you reduce the mass by half while keeping the speed constant.

Answer 2

Reducing the speedbby half, KE will become (1/4)th of the its previous value.