Question

A rocket-launching vehicle is moving forward at a constant velocity of 5 m/s. a cannon on the vehicle shoots a shell straight up with a velocity of 20 m/s. the shell moves without friction, (no air resistance). how high does the shell go, in m?

Answer 1

For any object thrown upwards where only the force of gravity is acting upon it, uses the following formula for the maximum height attained.

H= v²/2g, where g = 9.81 m/s²

There are two information of velocities are given. However, we use the 20 m/s information because this is the launch velocity. Hence, the solution is as follows:

H = (20 m/s)²/2(9.81 m/s²)
H = 20.4 m