A child is playing on the floor of a recreational vehicle (RV) as it moves along
ID: 1691885 • Letter: A
Question
A child is playing on the floor of a recreational vehicle (RV) as it moves along the highway at a constant velocity. He has a toy cannon, which shoots a marble at a fixed angle and speed with respect to the floor. The cannon can be aimed toward the front or the rear of the RV. Is the range toward the front the same as, less than, or greater than the range toward the rear? Answer this question (a) from the child's point of view and (b) from the point of view of an observer standing still on the ground.This is a problem in Chapter 3 under Relative Velocity; it is question number 16 of the Check Your Understanding portion.
Explanation / Answer
a) From the point of view of the child, the range towards the front is same as that towards the rear because as far as the child is concerned, the velocity of the marble is only due to the toy cannon but not due to the moving RV. b)From the point of view of an observer on the ground, the range towards the front is more than that towards the rear because as far as the observer is concerned, the velocity of the marble is due to the toy cannon and the RV. As the RV is moving in forward direction, the velocity adds up if the marble is shot in the forward direction leading to more range in forward direction. If the marble was shot in the backward direction then the final velocity decreases as then the velocity due to toy cannon and RV are in opposite directions.
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