Question

Was the cannonball able to hit its target of 50 meters when the initial velocity was 20 m/s? Why?/Why Not?

Answer 1

Answer:

The cannon ball was not able to hit the target because the target is located at a height of 50 m whereas the cannon ball was only above to get to a height of 20 m.

Explanation:

From the question given above, the following data were obtained:

Height to which the target is located = 50 m

Initial velocity (u) = 20 m/s

To know whether or not the cannon ball is able to hit the target, we shall determine the maximum height to which the cannon ball attained. This can be obtained as follow:

Initial velocity (u) = 20 m/s

Final velocity (v) = 0 (at maximum height)

Acceleration due to gravity (g) = 10 m/s²

Maximum height (h) =?

v² = u² – 2gh (since the ball is going against gravity)

0² = 20² – (2 × 10 × h)

0 = 400 – 20h

Collect like terms

0 – 400 = – 20h

– 400 = – 20h

Divide both side by – 20

h = – 400 / – 20

h = 20 m

Thus, the the maximum height to which the cannon ball attained is 20 m.

From the calculations made above, we can conclude that the cannon ball was not able to hit the target because the target is located at a height of 50 m whereas the cannon ball was only above to get to a height of 20 m.