Question

An airplane traveling at a constant horizontal velocity and flying at a certain altitude drops a package right above point a on the ground. the package hits point b on the ground. how are points a and b related?

group of answer choices
A. point b is at the same location as point a
B. point b is in front of point a (i.e., farther down in the direction where the airplane is going)
C. point b is behind point a (i.e., farther up the direction where the airplane came from)
D. the relationship of the two points cannot be determined without knowing the speed of the airplane.

Answer 1

Point B is in front of point A because the package retains the airplane's horizontal velocity while falling. This leads to the package hitting the ground ahead in the direction the airplane is moving.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is related to the behavior of a projectile in a physics context, specifically concerning an object dropped from a moving airplane. When an airplane traveling at a constant horizontal velocity drops a package at a certain altitude, point B on the ground, where the package hits, is in front of point A, directly below the release point.

This is because the package retains the horizontal velocity of the airplane due to inertia and thus continues to move forward in the direction of the airplane's motion while it is falling. This is similar to the classic physics examples involving binoculars dropped from a moving ship's mast or a coin dropped inside an airplane. Observers in different reference frames (one on the ship or plane and one on the ground) perceive the motion differently, but both see that the object lands forward of the release point, not behind it.

Therefore, the correct answer to the student's original question is: B. point B is in front of point A (i.e., farther down in the direction where the airplane is going). The relationship is not affected by the speed of the airplane as long as the velocity is constant and there is no acceleration other than due to gravity.