Lab 5 – Feed the Monkey (Projectile Motion) Vocabulary: acceleration, free fall, trajectory, vector, velocity Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gnome to help feed the monkey): The billionaire Veda Hussert has invented a banana cannon. She aims the cannon at the wildlife preserve to feed monkeys high in the trees. Simply the sound of her voice frightens the monkeys, and when she fires a banana, they drop out of the tree. Unfortunately, the noise of the cannon scares them. So, where should Veda aim to hit a falling monkey? (Circle your choice:) 1. Directly at the monkey 2. Above the monkey 3. Below the monkey Explain your choice: Click or tap here to enter text:
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct choice is “Above the monkey”.
Here’s why: When the banana cannon is fired, the banana follows a curved path called a trajectory. The key here is that the monkey is not stationary but falling at the moment the banana is shot. As soon as the monkey hears the cannon and lets go of the tree, it is subject to free fall, meaning it accelerates downward due to gravity. This downward acceleration is the same for both the monkey and the banana.
Since the banana also falls due to gravity, it will not travel in a straight line but will drop as it moves horizontally. If Veda aims directly at the monkey, the banana would miss, as both will fall at the same rate and the banana would be too low by the time it reaches the monkey’s previous position. On the other hand, if she aims above the monkey, the banana will travel along its arc and fall to the point where the monkey will be, eventually intersecting with the falling trajectory of the monkey, allowing the banana to hit the monkey in mid-air.
The velocity of the banana, both horizontal and vertical, will change due to gravity, so the banana needs to be aimed above the monkey’s starting position to account for the fall, and hit the monkey as it continues to fall from the tree.
