Question

Suppose a ball is dropped from some height, and 2 seconds later another ball is dropped. Calculate the time required for the second ball to pass the first one.

a. 2 seconds
b. 3 seconds
c. 4 seconds
d. 5 seconds

Answer 1

To find the time when the second ball passes the first one after being dropped 2 seconds later, we equate the distance equations for both balls in free fall, leading to a calculation that gives 4 seconds as the time when the passing occurs.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question is related to the concept of free fall and the kinematics of two objects dropped from the same height at different times. To calculate the time required for the second ball to pass the first one, we need to use the equations of motion for objects in free fall:

For the first ball:

For the second ball (2 seconds later):

Since we want to find the time when the second ball passes the first ball, their positions will be equal, s1 = s2:

By solving this equation, we can find the time 't' when the second ball overtakes the first one. The ball passes the first one at time t equal to 4 seconds given the provided choices.