Two projectiles are fired at the same initial speed but at complementary angles.
Both will hit the same spot on the horizontal axis. Which one gets there first?
Which one is more likely to get there, if a wall were erected between the launch site and the target?
Note that motion is not tracked after a projectile hits the horizontal axis ( negative heights are cut out of the picture).
After a projectile hits the axis, its subsequent motion is not shown.
For clarity, a particle's previous positions are left on the plot.
The right-most point on a path is its actual position at the instant of time that is being displayed in that picture.
We stop following the motion when the second particle touches the horizontal axis.
NOTE: Zoom is used throughout the sequence to show as much detail as possible.
STUDENTS: The angles used are 30 and 60 degrees with g=32 ft/sec/sec and the original speed 40 ft/sec.
You may wish to do some calculations on scrap paper to determine the heights and range of the projectiles.
CHALLENGE: How much time passes between when the first and second projectiles hit the horizontal axis?
[I got 5*((3)^(1/2)-1)/4 sec. Is that right?]