Final answer:
To find the speed at which the plane was flying, we calculate the time for a rubber bullet, shot straight up, to reach its peak and fall back to a height of 300 meters where it hits the plane. This time is then used to calculate the horizontal distance the plane covers, which when divided by the flight time gives the plane's speed. So, the correct option is a)10.6 m/s.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine how fast the toy plane was flying, we must consider the projectile motion of the rubber bullet.
Since the bullet was shot straight up, we can calculate the time it takes to reach the highest point and then fall down to the height of the plane, which is 300 meters above the ground.
The time it takes for the bullet to reach the highest point can be found using the first equation of motion: vf = vi + at, where vf is the final velocity (0 m/s at the highest point), vi is the initial velocity (150 m/s), a is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately -9.81 m/s2), and t is the time.
We can solve for t to find the time to reach the highest point and then double it to account for the time to fall back down to 300 meters.
Once the total time of flight is calculated, we can use this time to determine the horizontal distance traveled by the plane.
Assuming the plane was flying at a constant horizontal speed, the distance covered (1.50 km) divided by the total time of flight will give us the speed of the plane.
So, the correct option is a) 10.6 m/s.