Question

Paintball guns were originally developed to mark trees for logging. A forester aims his gun directly at a knothole in a tree that is 4.0 m above the gun. The base of the tree is 15 m away. The speed of the paintball as it leaves the gun is 50 m/s. How far below the knothole does the paintball strike the tree? Express your answer with the appropriate units.

Answer 1

Answer:

The distance between knothole and the paint ball is 0.483 m.

Explanation:

Given that,

Height = 4.0 m

Distance = 15 m

Speed = 50 m/s

The angle at which the forester aims his gun are,

$\tan\theta=\dfrac{4}{15}$

$\tan\theta=0.266$

$\cos\theta=\dfrac{15}{\sqrt{15^2+4^2}}$

$\cos\theta=0.966$

Using the equation of motion of the trajectory

The horizontal displacement of the paint ball is

$x=(u\cos\theta)t$

$t=\dfrac{x}{u\cos\theta}$

Using the equation of motion of the trajectory

The vertical displacement of the paint ball is

$y=u\sin\theta(t)-\dfrac{1}{2}gt^2$

$y=u\sin\theta(\dfrac{x}{u\cos\theta})-\dfrac{1}{2}g(\dfrac{x}{u\cos\theta})^2$

$y=x\tan\theta-\dfrac{gx^3}{2u^2(\cos\theta)^2}$

Put the value into the formula

$y=(15\times0.266)-(\dfrac{9.8\times(15)^2}{2\times(50)^2\times(0.966)^2})$

$y=3.517\ m$

We need to calculate the distance between knothole and the paint ball

$d=h-y$

$d=4-3.517$

$d=0.483\ m$

Hence, The distance between knothole and the paint ball is 0.483 m.