This is a defective, misleading question, and should never be asked in a Physics class.
There is no such thing as the force due to the impact.
If you know how long it takes the clam to stop once it begins to hit the dirt,
then you can calculate the impulse transferred to it, and tease a force out
of that. But the question doesn't give us the time.
It depends on the material of the surface. Was the clam dropped onto dirt ?
Into a dumpster ? Onto grass ? Concrete ? Styrofoam ? Mud ? The answer
is different in each case, and we still need to know the short length of time
AFTER it first encountered whatever surface brought it to rest.
I would kick this question back to the Physics teacher. It's meaningless,
and the longer you try to work on it, the more nonsense you'll plant into
your head that'll need to be dug out later.
Answer: The 6 kg rock sitting on a 3.2 m cliff.
Explanation:
The potential energy of an object of mass M that is at a height H above the ground us:
U = M*H*g
where g is the gravitational acceleration:
g = 9.8m/s^2
Then:
"An 8 kg rock sitting on a 2.2 m cliff"
M = 8kg
H = 2.2m
U = 8kg*2.2m*9.8 m/s^2 = 172.48 J
"a 6 kg rock sitting on a 3.2 m cliff"
M = 6kg
H = 3.2m
U = 6kg*3.2m*9.8m/s^2 = 188.16 J
You can see that the 6kg rock on a 3.2m cliff has a larger potential energy.
If you were to sit a hot cup of water out side it would frezze faster
Answer: A crest is the highest point the medium rises to and a trough is the lowest point the medium sinks to. It is also a point on the wave where the displacement of the medium is at a maximum.
