A person in an enclosed train car, moving at cinsatnt velocity, throws a ball straight up into the air in her?

Question

reference frame. a) Where does the ball land? What is your answer if the car B)accelerates c)Deccelerates d)rounds a curve e) moves with constant velocity but is open to air?

Answer 1

If you are in an inertial system, no acceleration involved (but g) it's the same than if you throw a ball being on the floor. In fact, the Earth is moving too, so what?

If the car accelerates or decelerates, then you will have an acceleration in the x direction. This will cause that the ball moves as if it would have an acceleration in the opposite direction. Haven't you been in a car that suddenly stopps? What happened to your body? The inertia acted and you tended to go forward, didn't you?

If the car rounds a curve, then it's accelerating because the v is changing its direction.

If it moves with constant velocity v but is open to air, the outside air will produce wind at -v and this will produce in the ball the same effect as if it would have been rolling on a table and then it would fall. You will have a vx and a vy.

Ilusion

Answer 2

The ball will lose forward motion only if there is air resistance (drag) to decelerate it. Inside a train the air will be moving at the same horizontal speed as the ball and will not decelerate it; it will fall as it would if the thrower were stationary. On an open truck there would be drag and the ball would fall behind the thrower.

Answer 3

a) On her head
b) Towards the back of the car
c) Towards the front of he car
d) towards the outside of the curve
e) The air will exert a force opposite the direction of motion, so it will land towards the back of teh car.

Doug

Answer 4

Birmingham, Alabama