- #1
Perseverence
- 88
- 7
Homework Statement
A truck is moving at constant velocity. A rock is dropped from a storage compartment located at the midpoint of the ceiling of the truck. Where does the rock land on the floor.
2. Homework Equations
Ax=0
The Attempt at a Solution
[/B]
The given answer states that the rock lands exactly below the midpoint of the ceiling. In other words it drops straight down in a straight line just below the exact spot from which it was dropped. The rationale is that there is no horizontal velocity an object in free fall. So what I don't understand is that the truck is still moving, the rock is not moving with it, so why does the rocket land in the same spot it would if the truck were standing still. Wouldn't the horizontal velocity of the rock habitue match the horizontal velocity of the truck, for the rock to the land in the same place it would if the truck were standing still?