Compare two different situations in which a ball and hard surface exert forces on one another. First, a putty ball is placed gently on the floor and left at rest. Then it is dropped from a height of 2.00 m and comes to rest without a bounce, leaving a 1.15-cm-deep dent in the putty.
(a) In which case does the ball exert more force on the floor? In which case is it most likely to dent the floor? Explain.
(b) Calculate the force exerted by the ball on the floor (in terms of its weight w) in the first case.
(c) Deter-mine the average acceleration of the ball and the average force exerted by the ball on the floor (in terms of the ball’s weight w) in the second case.