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 has the larger vertical velocity component when it hits the floor is
A) the yellow ball.
B) the blue ball.
C) neither; both have the same vertical velocity component.
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 have the same vertical velocity component when they hit the floor because the vertical motion is only affected by gravity, which is the same for both balls. Horizontal motion does not affect vertical velocity.

A Yellow Ball Rolling Rapidly Along a Tabletop Rolls Off