Final answer:
The student's question about projectile motion can be solved using the equations of motion for free fall to find the time a bullet will stay in the air and then multiplying it by the horizontal velocity to find the distance traveled.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question is about calculating the projectile motion of a bullet fired from a rifle at a certain height and speed. Assuming the rifle is fired horizontally and the only force acting on the bullet after it leaves the barrel is gravity (neglecting air resistance and other forces), we can treat this as a physics problem involving a classic projectile motion scenario. The distance the bullet will travel horizontally before hitting the ground is determined by the horizontal velocity and the time the bullet is in the air.
To find out how long the bullet will be in the air, we use the equation for free fall motion because the horizontal component does not affect the time it takes to hit the ground. The equation is d = ½gt², where d is the vertical distance (1.7 meters), g is the acceleration due to gravity (≈9.81 m/s²), and t is the time in seconds. Solving for t gives us the time the bullet is in the air.
Once we have the time, we can calculate the horizontal distance traveled using the equation distance = velocity × time, with the initial velocity of the bullet being 9500 m/s and the time calculated from the free-fall equation.