Asked by ji
Cecelia dropped a ball from a height of 2 m. The ball fell in a straight path down to the ground.
According to Newton’s universal law of gravitation, which would change the path of the ball so it traces out the widest curved path possible?
tossing it horizontally at a slower speed
tossing it horizontally at a faster speed
dropping it from a shorter distance
dropping it from a greater distance
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Tossing it horizontally at a faster speed.
Reason: gravity acts downward, so the horizontal distance traveled before hitting the ground is x = v_x * sqrt(2h/g). Increasing the horizontal speed v_x increases that distance (and thus the width of the curved path) the most. Increasing height also helps (through the sqrt), but a faster horizontal toss produces the widest curve.
Reason: gravity acts downward, so the horizontal distance traveled before hitting the ground is x = v_x * sqrt(2h/g). Increasing the horizontal speed v_x increases that distance (and thus the width of the curved path) the most. Increasing height also helps (through the sqrt), but a faster horizontal toss produces the widest curve.
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