-- Put the rod into the freezer for a while. As it cools,
it contracts (gets smaller) slightly.
-- Put the cylinder into hot hot water for a while. As it heats,
it expands (gets bigger) slightly.
-- Bring the rod and the cylinder togther quickly, before the
rod has a chance to warm up or the cylinder has a chance
to cool off.
-- I bet it'll fit now.
-- But be careful . . . get the rod exactly where you want it as fast
as you can. Once both pieces come back to the same temperature,
and the rod expands a little and the cylinder contracts a little, the fit
will be so tight that you'll probably never get them apart again, or even
move the rod.
Kinetic energy is never negative, but potential energy can be.
Potential energy depends on height above some reference level,
and you can pick any level you want as the reference. So, if the
object is below the reference level you pick, then its potential
energy relative to your reference level is negative.
What that means is: You have to lift it / do work on it / give it more
energy than it has now ... in order to move it to the reference level.
(That's exactly the situation with electrons bound to an atom. Their
energy is considered negative, because we have to do work and
give them more energy to rip them away from the atom.)
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Regarding the other choices:
-- Kinetic energy is scalar ... Yes. So is potential energy.
-- Kinetic energy increases with height ...
No. It doesn't, but potential energy does.
-- Kinetic energy depends on position ...
No. It doesn't, but potential energy does.
The two will fall at the same speed and reach the surface at the same time. This is because the two will experience the same gravitational acceleration on the moon. However, on the earth surface the two will land on the surface of the earth at the same time due to air resistance such that the egg will experience a higher air resistance than the hammer. On, the moon, where there is no noticeable atmosphere there is no air resistance on either object and both fall at the same speed. It is also important to note that their mass doesn't affect their speed.
