Taro stated that when someone hits a golf ball with a club, the amount of energy the ball has changes, the amount of energy that the club has changes, and the total energy of the system that includes the ball and the club increases. Which best explains Taro’s error?

When the club hits the ball, energy is transferred between them, so the energy of each object can change. But energy is conserved: the total energy of a system that includes both the club and the ball remains the same. Therefore, Taro’s error is saying the system’s total energy increases; the best choice is “The total energy of the system remains the same.”

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