Question

A gun is aimed at a target in a line of its barrel. The target is released and allowed to fall under gravity at the same instant the gun is fired. The bullet will
A) hit the target
B) pas above the target
C) pass below the target
D) certainly miss the target

Answer 1

Hint: We can see the distance both the bullet and the target will cover at a particular instant, if it is the same then the bullet will hit the target and if not, it wouldn’t if left on the same instant.

Complete step by step answer:
The gun is aimed in line of its barrel i.e. in the line of sight (straight line) on the target:

The initial velocities of both the bullet and the target to fall downwards is zero and experience an acceleration due to gravity ‘g’ (as their motion is downwards).
The bullet will experience ‘g’ at all the positions and hence will move in a parabolic path while the target covers a horizontal distance while falling. If the target falls under gravity at the same instant (time) the gun is fired, the range covered by the bullet and the distance covered by the target will be equal and they will meet.
Thus, it can be concluded that the bullet will hit the target and the correct option is A).

Note: Here, the bullet is a projectile. Any object in air (thrown or released) subjected only to the gravitational force is called a projectile, the path it follows is called trajectory and is generally parabolic because at all the points, gravitational force is acting on its center of mass.