A ball rolls off a platform that is 3 meters above the ground. The ball's horizontal velocity as it leaves the platform is 4.5 m/s.

Question

(a) How much time does it take for the ball to hit the ground? (See the example box, use g = 10 m/s2.)
(b) How far from the base of the platform does the ball hit the ground?

Answer 1

(a) 5t^2 = 3
(b) since the horizontal speed is constant, and distance = speed * time, that would be 4.5t (with t from (a) above)