Question

Two BB bullets are shot completely horizontally 3 meters off the ground. Bullet A is shot at 100 m/s, and bullet B is shot at 50 m/s. Assuming no air resistance, which one will land first?

A. Neither will hit
B. Both hit at the same time
C. Bullet B
D. Bullet A

Answer 1

Both bullets, A and B, will hit the ground at the same time because the time it takes for an object to fall due to gravity is independent of its horizontal velocity.

Step-by-step explanation:

Assuming no air resistance and that both bullets are shot completely horizontally from the same height of 3 meters, the time it takes for each bullet to land is determined solely by the acceleration due to gravity and the initial vertical velocity, which for both bullets is zero since they are shot horizontally. The horizontal velocity of each bullet does not affect the time it takes for them to fall to the ground, as projectile motion is comprised of independent horizontal and vertical components.

Since both bullets are subjected to the same gravitational acceleration and are released from the same height, they will experience the same time to fall, regardless of their horizontal velocities. Therefore, the correct answer is that both bullets hit the ground at the same time, which can be denoted as option B.