Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A trolley runs along a straight, level floor at a steady to the right. A small spring gun is fixed on the trolley, with its muzzle above the floor. The gun fires a ball backwards, at relative to the trolley and at above the horizontal as seen by a rider on the trolley, as shown in the figure. The trolley keeps its speed. Ignore air resistance, and take , and .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Plan. Find the ball's velocity over the ground by adding the trolley's velocity. Then treat it as an ordinary projectile, launched above the floor.
Step 1. Velocity over the ground. Relative to the trolley, the ball moves backwards at and upwards at . The trolley carries it forwards at . So over the ground the ball moves backwards at , and upwards at :
The ball still moves backwards, but much more steeply than the gun points.
Step 2. Greatest height. Only the upward part matters: the ball rises a further above the muzzle, so its greatest height is above the floor.
Step 3. Time of flight. Take upwards as positive. The ball ends below its start: (in metres and seconds), so and
Step 4. Where it lands. Over the ground the ball moves backwards at the whole time, so it lands behind the point below the muzzle at firing. Meanwhile the trolley moves forwards. So the ball is behind the muzzle.
Step 5. Straight up and down. The ball's horizontal velocity over the ground is . It is zero when , that is .
Answer: (a) , at above the horizontal, pointing backwards. (b) . (c) ; it lands behind the firing point, and behind the muzzle. (d) above the horizontal.
Check. Work in the trolley's frame. It moves at a steady velocity, so gravity is the same there. The ball leaves at backwards and up, so the time to the floor is the same , and in that time it moves back from the muzzle. Both frames agree.
Watch out. The angle is the angle seen by the rider. A person on the ground sees a different angle, because the trolley adds to the horizontal part only. The upward part, and so the time of flight, is the same in both frames.
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