Question

A paintball is shot horizontally from a paintball marker 0.55 m above the ground. The initial velocity of the paintball is 250 m/s. How long will it take for the paintball to hit the ground?

a. 2.0 seconds
b. 5.5 seconds
c. 1.0 second
d. 4.0 seconds

Answer 1

The paintball will take approximately 0.33 seconds to hit the ground.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the time it takes for the paintball to hit the ground, we can use the equation for vertical motion:

h = v_0t + (1/2)gt^2

where h is the initial height above the ground, v_0 is the initial vertical velocity (which is 0 since the paintball was shot horizontally), t is the time, and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

Plugging in the given values, we have:

0.55 = 0 + (1/2)(9.8)t^2

Simplifying the equation gives:

t^2 = (2 * 0.55) / 9.8

t is equal to the positive square root of the right-hand side, which is approximately 0.334 seconds (or 0.33 seconds rounded to two decimal places).