Question

A boy sitting in a car moving with a constant velocity throws a ball straight up into the air. Will the ball fall behind him, in front of him or into his hand? What would happen if the car accelerated forward or went round a curve while the ball was in the air ?

Answer 1

It will fall into his hand because of the ‘physical independence of vectors’ or the fact that the forward velocity of the ball in the air is the same as that of the car. But if the car accelerated, the ball would fall behind him. If the car went round a curve the ball would fall in front of him because it would move along the tangent to the curved path through a certain distance while the car moved along the curved path through the same distance.