I've seen these types of questions before where it asks "What if they thought they were measuring under X conditions when it was actually under Y conditions? How would this change their results?" or something like that, and I am not sure how to keep myself from choosing the wrong answer. Even after thinking about this problem (the question stem and their explanation) for a long time, I can't seem to convince myself of their explanation. It seems like they are asking one thing but then answering the opposite of what they asked for in the question stem. Could anyone help clarify these types of questions for me or suggest a strategy for not falling into such traps in the future?
The problem is copied below.
5. If researchers failed to take into account the effect of air resistance on the pitch, how would it impact their measurements of the efficiency of energy transfer from the arm to the baseball?
A.
It would be lower than the actual efficiency as there was a higher initial velocity at release.
B.
It would be higher than the actual efficiency as there as a higher initial velocity at release.
C.
It would be lower than the actual efficiency as there was a lower initial velocity at release.
D.
It would be higher than the actual efficiency as there was a lower initial velocity at release.
A is correct. This question requires us to examine the experimental setup and determine what effects air resistance would have on the scientists’ calculations. Air resistance would decrease the velocity of the ball as it travels from the mound to home plate, where the velocity was recorded. Thus, the measured velocity should be lower than the velocity at release. The decreased velocity will result in a decreased calculated energy for the baseball, leading to a decreased calculation of efficiency for the energy transfer from the arm to the ball.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the relevant part of the passage, even though it's not really necessary to answer the question. They just talk about how efficiency of energy transfer decreases through each step:
The problem is copied below.
5. If researchers failed to take into account the effect of air resistance on the pitch, how would it impact their measurements of the efficiency of energy transfer from the arm to the baseball?
A.
It would be lower than the actual efficiency as there was a higher initial velocity at release.
B.
It would be higher than the actual efficiency as there as a higher initial velocity at release.
C.
It would be lower than the actual efficiency as there was a lower initial velocity at release.
D.
It would be higher than the actual efficiency as there was a lower initial velocity at release.
A is correct. This question requires us to examine the experimental setup and determine what effects air resistance would have on the scientists’ calculations. Air resistance would decrease the velocity of the ball as it travels from the mound to home plate, where the velocity was recorded. Thus, the measured velocity should be lower than the velocity at release. The decreased velocity will result in a decreased calculated energy for the baseball, leading to a decreased calculation of efficiency for the energy transfer from the arm to the ball.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the relevant part of the passage, even though it's not really necessary to answer the question. They just talk about how efficiency of energy transfer decreases through each step:
