Q:

The relationship between mass and incline on an object's speed

I took my daughter and son for a ride in there Red Rider Wagon on the weekend. We went down a small incline on one block in our neighborhood. My daughter, who is 5 years old, asked me in her own way, what effect does the mass of the kids in the wagon and the incline of the hill have on their speed?

A:

If the incline is frictionless then the mass and therefore the weight has nothing to with the speed. But a steeper incline will mean in the vertical direction there will be greater acceleration. If the incline is not frictionless then ultimately the terminal velocity (maximum speed reached) will be higher with a greater weight.

