- #36
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That's it. Note that the quadratic gives two solutions. The maximum is at 60° as you already found. Also of interest is the minimum that occurs at -180° and gives zero range. It shows that if the pistol is fired horizontally and opposite to the direction of the car's motion, your friend will see the projectile just drop to the ground. That's the angle at which the projectile does not move horizontally, not straight up as you previously imagined. I hope all this is clear now.