Describe the transfers of energy occurring when a ball is thrown vertically up in the air and falls back down to Earth, assuming there is no friction from the air.

When the ball is thrown, chemical energy in the muscles of the person is transferred to the ball as kinetic energy. As the ball rises, kinetic energy is transferred to potential energy as the ball slows down and gets to be further from the ground. When the ball reaches its peak height all of its energy is in the form of potential energy, which as the ball begins to fall back down, coverts into kinetic energy as the ball speeds up.

OT
Answered by Oliver T. Physics tutor

44174 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Why do you weigh less on the Moon than on Earth?


What actually is current? Why does it differ from potential difference?


Two cars are crash tested. Car A has a crumple zone, B doesn't. Both cars have mass 1500kg and a driver of mass 80kg and crash at 20m/s. Cars A and B take 0.8 and 0.2 seconds to stop respectively. Using this information, are crumple zones a necessity? (6)


A ball is dropped from a height of 20m. How long does it take for the ball to reach ground?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning