C. The downward component of the projectile's velocity continually increases
Explanation:
The motion of a projectile consists of two independent motions:
- A uniform motion (with constant velocity) along the horizontal direction
- A uniformly accelerated motion, with constant acceleration (equal to the acceleration of gravity) in the downward direction
Here we want to study the downward component of the projectile's velocity. Since the vertical motion is a uniformly accelerated motion, the vertical velocity is given by:
where
u = 0 is the initial vertical velocity (zero since the projectile is fired horizontally)
downward is the acceleration of gravity
t is the time
So the equation becomes
This means that
C. The downward component of the projectile's velocity continually increases
Because every second, it increases by in the downward direction.
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