Question

Special Agent Smith is aboard a secret government train which is moving at a constant speed of 13.5 m/s having just retrieved an experimental explosive from some enemy spies. However, the explosive has been activated with no way to turn it off. Smith runs at a speed of 4.2 m/s toward the back of the train. When she reaches the middle of the last car, while she is still running, Smith throws the explosive at an angle which she observes to be 68∘ with the track. Just after reaching the peak of its trajectory, the explosive explodes extremely dramatically. A reporter watching the scene unfold from the side of the tracks observes the explosive moving vertically with no horizontal motion (i.e. there is no velocity in the x-direction from the perspective of the reporter).

Answer 1

The question involves Special Agent Smith throwing an explosive on a moving train and belongs to the field of Physics, focusing on kinematics and relative velocity.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question describes a scenario involving motion and forces, which pertains to the field of Physics. The problem is about relative velocity and involves the use of basic kinematics to understand how different observers in different frames of reference perceive motion. For example, in the question involving Special Agent Smith, the explosive device appears to momentarily stop moving horizontally from the perspective of a reporter on the ground because Smith's velocity toward the back of the train and the train's forward motion counterbalance each other for the reporter's frame of reference. This situation involves concepts such as relative velocity and projectile motion. In this scenario, we have a special agent running at a speed of 4.2 m/s towards the back of a train that is moving at a constant speed of 13.5 m/s. When the agent reaches the middle of the last car, she throws an explosive at an angle of 68° with the track. Just after reaching the peak of its trajectory, the explosive explodes dramatically. From the perspective of a reporter watching the scene from the side of the tracks, the explosive appears to move vertically with no horizontal motion.