A yellow ball rolling rapidly along a tabletop rolls off the edge and falls to the floor. At the same instant, a blue ball having the same mass and shape as the yellow one is dropped from the same height. The ball that reaches the floor first is
A) the yellow ball.
B) the blue ball.
C) neither; both reach the floor at the same time.
D) unknown; one needs to know the speed of the yellow ball just before it rolls off the edge to work out the answer.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Both balls reach the floor at the same time because the horizontal motion of the yellow ball does not affect the time it takes to fall vertically. Both balls are subject to the same gravitational acceleration, so they hit the ground simultaneously.

A Yellow Ball Rolling Rapidly Along a Tabletop Rolls Off