55.0k views
4 votes
You and Mae are in free-float frames. Mae has just passed you, traveling at a speed of 60 km/hr. You throw a ball toward her at a speed of 60 km/hr. What will Mae see the ball doing?

User Camion
by
5.7k points

1 Answer

6 votes

Answer:

Mae will see the ball remaining still in air

Step-by-step explanation:

In this problem, we have:

- Mae has just passed you, and she is travelling at a velocity of
v_m = +60 km/h in your reference system

- You throw a ball toward Mae, with a velocity of
v_b = +60 km/h in your reference system

To find the velocity of the ball in Mae's reference system, we can do


v_b' = v_b - v'

where

v' is the velocity at which Mae's reference system is moving relative to you (which is +60 km/h). Therefore, we have


v_b' = (+60 km/h) - (+60 km/h)=0

So, the velocity of the ball in Mae's reference system will be zero.

User Manav Kothari
by
5.5k points