Rank: ? (168)
Member #: 8368

hi all,
its been quite sometime since i've done any physics....and though i should know the answer to these questions....i don't (well not 100% sure). So just going to ask here:P

1. If I was in a moving car (constant acc) and i tossed a ball vertically up...the ball should land back in my hand right?

2. Same as above, but the car was accelerating....the ball would land 'behind' my hand (ie. closer to the back of the car)...yes?

please help me satisfy my curiosity :P
thanks!

Rank: ? (4821)
Member #: 3416

1. assuming you mean zero acceleration rather than just constant acceleration, yes it will appear to you that you are throwing the ball straight upward and that it falls straight back down to your hand again. to someone standing outside the car as you drive by, it would appear that you threw the ball forward and upward, and that it continued going forward at the same speed as you until it came back down to your hand.

2. correct -- once you let go of the ball, it is no longer being accelerated forward like you are, so to you it appears to move backward. again, to someone standing outside, the ball appears to follow the same path as in #1, but you end up ahead of it since you are still accelerating.

Rank: ? (20)
Member #: 27672

By the way, why did you ask? Doing your younger brother's assignment again?