Question

if you toss a ball in projectile motion but used two balls of masses 20 and 30 grams, how would mass affect their motions in the X and Y direction? Please explain in detail.

Answer 1

Answer :

The motion of the objects in projectile motion is independent of the mass of the objects.

Thus, if you toss a ball in projectile motion but used two balls of masses 20 and 30 grams : Both the ball have similar projectile motion.

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The projectile motion only depends on the initial velocity of the object (v₀) and the angle of projection (θ). If both this quantities are same for any objects then those objects will follow similar projectile motion.

Here,

v_0x = v₀ cosθ

v_0y = v₀ sinθ

For projectile motion in X direction : The acceleration of the object will be zero (The object will travel with the constant horizontal velocity equal to the initial horizontal velocity i.e. v_x = v_0x = v₀ cosθ ).

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For projectile motion in Y direction : The acceleration of the object will be equal to the acceleration due to gravity (g = 9.81 m/s²) - Which is also constant (Independent of the mass).

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Therefore, From above two statements - We can conclude that the Projectile motion of the objects is independent of the mass of the objects.