Question

You simultaneously release two balls: one you throw horizontally, and the other you drop straight down. Which one will reach the ground first? Why?

(a) The ball dropped straight down lands first, since it travels a shorter distance.
(b) Neither. Their vertical motion is the same, so they will reach the ground at the same time.
(c) It depends on the mass of the balls—the heavier ball falls faster so lands first

Answer 1

Option B.

Step-by-step explanation:

Remember that we can think on any movement as a sum of a movement in the y-axis, the movement in the x-axis, and the movement in the z-axis. And these are not related, this means that, for example, the movement in x does not affect the movement in y.

So, when we analyze the problem of "how long takes an object to hit the ground"

We do not care for the horizontal motion of the object, we only care for the vertical motion of the object.

So, if an object is dropped, and another has a given initial velocity in the x-axis, in both cases the initial velocity in the y-axis will zero.

And in both cases, the only vertical force acting on the balls will be the gravitational force (so both objects will have the same vertical acceleration and the same vertical initial velocity) with this, we already know that the vertical motion of both objects will be exactly the same.

So, both objects will hit the ground at the same time.

(notice that here we are ignoring things like air resistance and other complex forces)

So here the correct option is b: Neither. Their vertical motion is the same, so they will reach the ground at the same time.