The Race of the Red and Blue Balls

Which ball hits the ground first?

A student throws a heavy red ball horizontally from a balcony of a tall building with an initial speed v0. At the same time, a second student drops a lighter blue ball from the same balcony. Which ball hits the ground first?

I'm not sure but I think both of the balls hit the ground at the same instant.

Answer:

Both balls reach the ground at the same time.

According to the laws of gravitation, all objects accelerate at the same rate under gravity. Whether an object is heavy or lightweight, if there is no air resistance, both will fall with the same speed if their initial speeds were zero. This means that they will have the same final speeds before reaching the ground.

Now, let's delve into the explanation. The first ball is thrown horizontally, so it has a horizontal velocity. However, the acceleration it experiences is due to gravity, causing it to have accelerated motion on the vertical axis. When the second ball is dropped at the same time, it will also experience the same acceleration downwards. As a result, both balls will reach the ground at the same instant.

Therefore, while the first ball may have a horizontal displacement, it will ultimately reach the ground at the same time as the second ball due to the consistent acceleration caused by gravity.