If you throw a ball straight out horizontal to the ground and your friend drops a ball from the same height, will the balls hit the ground at the same time?
To determine whether the balls will hit the ground at the same time, we need to consider the effect of gravity on both balls' motion.
Gravity is a force that pulls objects downward toward the Earth. When an object is in free fall, like the dropped ball, it accelerates due to gravity at a rate of 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s^2). This acceleration is called the acceleration due to gravity or simply "g".
In the case of throwing a ball horizontally, the ball follows a curved path called a projectile motion. However, in the absence of air resistance, the downward pull of gravity does not affect the horizontal motion of the ball. The ball will continue to move horizontally at a constant speed.
Therefore, both the dropped ball and the horizontally thrown ball experience the same acceleration due to gravity. Since gravity affects both balls equally, they will hit the ground at the same time, neglecting any other factors like air resistance.
So, yes, the balls will hit the ground at the same time if they are dropped and thrown horizontally from the same height, assuming no air resistance affects their motion.