Explain with an physical reasoning why a steel ball placed two feet above a table top makes a lot more noise than a lot easier
plastic ball placed in the same way . You can assume that air resistance is small and that the
Both balls have exactly the same speed before they bump in the table.

Question

Explain with an physical reasoning why a steel ball placed two feet above a table top makes a lot more noise than a lot easier
plastic ball placed in the same way . You can assume that air resistance is small and that the
Both balls have exactly the same speed before they bump in the table.

anonymous · Answer

My thought on this is that the potential energy is bigger in the steel ball because of the mass and that energy must be conserved somehow because energy must go somewhere and it goes to sound? Is this correct or am I so wrong? thanks in advance

anonymous · Answer

The case of mass explains it. Also, because the material of steel ball is metal, this are said to have a ringing sound when hit and when the steel ball falls, it emits more work to the air resistance. Ultimately, there is conversion of work done against resistance (heat energy) into collision, releasing sound energy+the natural sound energy that a metal has when it is hit.
Plastic does bot have stronger bonds and has a greater elasticity, absorbing the impact of collision like a spring into strain energy more than rather sound energy.