Final answer:
The mass of the ball does not affect the horizontal distance it travels before hitting the ground in projectile motion, given that air resistance is ignored and other conditions are equal.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mass of the ball will have no effect on how far the ball travels horizontally before it strikes the ground. This is because the horizontal motion of an object in projectile motion is independent of its mass. Air resistance is typically ignored in these types of physics problems, which means that all objects, regardless of mass, will experience the same horizontal acceleration (which is zero) if they are projected horizontally and will thus cover the same horizontal distance in the same amount of time if they are launched with the same speed and angle. Factors such as the height of the cliff, the speed with which the ball is thrown, and the angle at which the ball is thrown will actually have an effect on the horizontal distance traveled by the ball.