Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Why is there a bigger crater formed when you use a bigger ball?





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The activity can be viewed at: Creating Craters

Hi LUVSXARII,

Good question. The answer to this question is found when you think about how the craters are formed. More specifically, consider the amount of kinetic energy that is transferred between the ball and soil.

Larger balls have more kinetic energy than the smaller balls because they have a larger mass (assuming velocity is the same). As a result, more energy will be transferred to the soil when the ball impacts the surface which ultimately leads to forming a larger crater.

Hope this helps.