Final answer:
The magnitude of the vertical component of a projectile's velocity continually increases due to the constant acceleration caused by gravity. so, option e is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
For a projectile launched horizontally, the magnitude of the vertical component of a projectile's velocity does not remain a nonzero constant, nor does it initially decrease before increasing. Instead, if we assume air resistance is negligible, the correct description is that the magnitude of the vertical component of the projectile's velocity continually increases. This is because gravity acts on the projectile throughout its flight, pulling it downwards and accelerating it in the vertical direction at a constant rate (assuming Earth's gravity is a constant 9.8 m/s2). Therefore, option e) The magnitude of the vertical component of the projectile's velocity continually increases is the correct answer.
The magnitude of the vertical component of a projectile's velocity changes as the object moves through its trajectory. Initially, when the object is launched horizontally, the vertical velocity is zero. As the object rises, the vertical velocity decreases in magnitude. At the highest point of its trajectory, the vertical velocity is zero. As the object falls back towards the ground, the vertical velocity increases in magnitude but points in the opposite direction to the initial vertical velocity.