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If one ball falls straight down and another ball flies out as a projectile from the same height, will they land at the same time? Explain your answer.

User Mark Perry
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Final answer:

When one ball falls straight down and another ball is launched as a projectile, they will not land at the same time. The projectile ball takes longer to reach the ground due to its curved path known as projectile motion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two balls will not land at the same time. When one ball falls straight down, it is only influenced by the force of gravity. However, when the other ball is launched as a projectile, it has an initial velocity and follows a curved path known as a projectile motion.

This means that while the ball falling straight down accelerates at a constant rate due to gravity, the projectile ball's vertical velocity decreases as it reaches its highest point and then increases as it falls back down. As a result, the projectile ball takes longer to reach the ground compared to the ball falling straight down.

An experiment you can try at home is to drop a marble, a ball, and a spoon from the same height and observe their landing times. You will notice that the ball and spoon take longer to land compared to the marble.

User Gabriel Magana
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