Question

Which of the following statements is true for the object experiencing the following projectile motion: launched horizontally with a very high velocity (ignoring the effects of the curvature of the Earth)?

A) it will never hit the ground
B) it will take longer to hit the ground than an object launched the same manner but at a ridiculously slower velocity
C) it will take longer to hit the ground than the same object dropped from the same height
D) in all of these situations, objects hits the ground in the same amount of time

Answer 1

The true statement for a horizontally launched projectile object is that it will take longer to hit the ground than the same object dropped from the same height. This is due to both objects falling at the same rate due to gravity, which is independent of the horizontal velocity.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct statement for an object experiencing projectile motion when launched horizontally with a very high velocity is:

C) it will take longer to hit the ground than the same object dropped from the same height.

This is because any object in projectile motion falls at the same rate as an object in freefall, regardless of its horizontal velocity. The horizontal component of motion does not affect the vertical component of motion for projectile motion near the Earth's surface, assuming negligible air resistance and ignoring the effects of Earth's curvature. In this context, the vertical component of motion is solely influenced by the acceleration due to gravity.

Therefore, an object launched horizontally, no matter how fast, will still hit the ground at the same time as if it were simply dropped, if both started at the same height. This is depicted in diagrams illustrating projectile motion, where the vertical position of the object is consistent over time for both the horizontally launched object and the simply dropped object.