How Far Apart Are Two Students Throwing Balls?

Question:

Two students are on a balcony 18.5 m above the street. One student throws a ball vertically downward at 13.8 m/s; at the same instant, the other student throws a ball vertically upward at the same speed. The second ball just misses the balcony on the way down. How far apart are the balls 0.361 s after they are thrown? The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s2.

Answer:

11.24m

To calculate the distance between the two balls 0.361 seconds after they are thrown, we can use the equations of motion for each ball. The initial velocities of the first and second balls are given as 13.8 m/s and -13.8 m/s respectively, due to the direction of their throws.

By applying the equations of motion and considering the acceleration of gravity, we can find that the balls are 5.62m apart from each other from their starting points. This means that after 0.361 seconds, the distance between the two balls is 11.24m.