Question

A ball is dropped on top of an inclined plane; it hits it and bounces off, landing on the incline again, further down the slope. The vector acceleration of any object in projectile motion, such as this ball, points straight down. Would it make sense to try to tackle this problem using a tilted x-y axis, with the x-axis along the incline and the y-axis perpendicular to it?

Answer 1

When analyzing projectile motion on an inclined plane, it is more appropriate to use a conventional x-y axis system instead of a tilted x-y axis system. This allows us to analyze the vertical and horizontal components of the motion separately.

Step-by-step explanation:

When analyzing projectile motion, it is common practice to break it down into two independent one-dimensional motions along the vertical and horizontal axes. This allows us to analyze the motion along each axis separately. In the case of the ball bouncing on an inclined plane, since the vector acceleration of any object in projectile motion points straight down, it would not make sense to use a tilted x-y axis system. Instead, it would be more appropriate to use a conventional x-y axis system, with the x-axis along the horizontal direction and the y-axis along the vertical direction. By doing this, we can easily analyze the vertical and horizontal components of the ball's motion separately.