Question

A toy car is going around a loop-the-loop. Gravity ______ the kinetic energy on the upward side of the loop, _____ the kinetic energy at the top, and _____ the kinetic energy on the downward side of the loop.

Answer 1

Answer:

decreases, has no effect on, increases

Explanation:

The kinetic energy of any object is dependent on two variables a) mass of the object and b) its velocity.  

The mass of the object remains constant throughout the trajectory and only the velocity changes. As the object starts moving in upward direction gravity starts decreasing the velocity as it acts in opposite direction. As the object reaches the maximum height, gravity becomes ineffective as velocity has reduced to zero. As the object starts descending, velocity increases and hence the effect of gravity as the movement is towards the gravity.