A small steel sphere rolls off the horizontal edge of a laboratory bench that is…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials
Problem
A small steel sphere rolls off the horizontal edge of a laboratory bench that is 0.85m above the floor and lands on the level floor a horizontal distance of 1.29m from the base of the bench.
(a) Calculate the time interval between the moment the sphere leaves the bench and the moment it strikes the floor. Express your answer numerically with appropriate units.
(b) Determine the magnitude of the sphere’s initial horizontal velocity as it left the bench.
(c) Just before impact with the floor, the sphere’s velocity has both horizontal and vertical components. Determine the magnitude of its resultant velocity and the angle that this velocity vector makes with the horizontal.
(d) A second identical sphere is released from rest at the same instant from the same height directly beneath the edge of the bench (it is simply dropped, not projected). Compare the times at which the two spheres strike the floor and calculate the horizontal separation between them at the instant of impact.