phy201
Your 'cq_1_18.1' report has been received. Scroll down through the document to see any comments I might have inserted, and my final comment at the end.
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A child in a slowly moving car tosses a ball upward. It rises to a point below the roof of the car and falls back down, at which point the child catches it. During this time the car neither speeds up nor slows down, and does not change direction.
What force(s) act on the ball between the instant of its release and the instant at which it is caught? You can ignore air resistance.
answer/question/discussion: ->->->->->->->->->->->-> :
gravitational force
What happens to the speed of the ball between release and catch? Describe in some detail; a graph of speed vs. clock time would also be appropriate.
answer/question/discussion: ->->->->->->->->->->->-> :
as it rose the speed would decrease due to force against gravity and on the way down the speed would increase due to the ball acting with the force of gravity
Describe the path of the ball as it would be observed by someone standing along the side of the road.
answer/question/discussion: ->->->->->->->->->->->-> :
they would see the ball go up and start to move in the direction of the air resistance and come down and move even further in the direction of the air resistance
How would the path differ if the child was coasting along on a bicycle? What if the kid didn't bother to catch the ball? (You know nothing about what happens after the ball makes contact with the ground, so there's no point in addressing anything that might happen after that point).
answer/question/discussion: ->->->->->->->->->->->-> :
it would depend on the speed he was traveling just as it does for the car example. If he didnt catch the ball, the kid would pass by the ball and it would hit the ground.
What if the child drops the ball from the (inside) roof of the car to the floor? For the interval between roof and floor, how will the speed of the ball change? What will be the acceleration of the ball? (You know nothing about what happens after the ball makes contact with the floor, so there's no point in addressing anything that might happen after that point).
answer/question/discussion: ->->->->->->->->->->->-> :
the speed would increase and the acceleration would be that of gravity 9.8m/s/s
What if the child holds the ball out of an open window and drops it. If the ball is dense (e.g., a steel ball) and the car isn't moving very fast, air resistance will have little effect. Describe the motion of the ball as seen by the child. Describe the motion of the ball as seen by an observer by the side of the road. (You know nothing about what happens after the ball makes contact with the ground, so there's no point in addressing anything that might happen after that point).
answer/question/discussion: ->->->->->->->->->->->-> :
it would seem to the child that the ball would drop straight to the ground as it would for a person looking from the side of the road.
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15mins
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Good overall. Check the link, especially the descriptions of the path of the ball from different points of reference:
&#Please compare your solutions with the expanded discussion at the link
Solution
Self-critique your solutions, if this is necessary, according to the usual criteria. Insert any revisions, questions, etc. into a copy of this posted document. Mark any insertions with &&&& so they can be easily identified. &#