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A student throws a heavy red ball horizontally from a balcony of a tall building with an initial speed v0. At the same time, a second student drops a lighter blue ball from the same balcony. Which ball hits the ground first?

2 Answers

4 votes

Answer:

Both balls reach the ground at the same time.

Step-by-step explanation:

You may ask why? Well, the first ball is thrown with a horizontal velocity, but the acceleration it has is the gravity, so it will have an accelerated motion on the Y axis, so if we drop a second ball at the same time it will have the same acceleration going down, so both balls reach the ground at the same instant, the first ball will have a horizontal displacement but it'll reach at the same time.

User Rcomblen
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4 votes
I'm not sure but I think both of the balls hit the ground at the same instant.
Because according to the laws of gravitation, all objects accelerate in the same rate under gravity. Whether a heavy object or a lightweight one, if there is no air resistance, both fall with the same speeds if their initial speeds were zero. So, the have the same final speeds before reaching the ground. Remember that acceleration due to gravity is independent of mass.
User Ben Cook
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