The bullet's horizontal velocity and vertical velocity vectors do not affect each other and are known as ___________.

Question

The bullet's horizontal velocity and vertical velocity vectors do not affect each other and are known as ___________.

Answer 1

The bullet's horizontal velocity and vertical velocity vectors do not affect each other and are known as independent. How fast a bullet falls to the ground (vertical velocity) has nothing to do with how quickly it's moving toward a target (horizontal velocity). In other words, when unobstructed by a target, forces like drag, the effects of wind, ect., it would take just as long for the bullet to fall to the ground if it were shot at no incline from a handgun as it would if it were shot from a high-powered rifle. The distance and velocity of it's movement horizontally would be greatly effected by the type of gun, and they would hit the ground farther away from one another, but at the same time.

 

Another example: If you toss a ball directly upward at to a certain height and catch it yourself, it will spend β seconds aloft. if you toss the ball up and forward into the hands of a friend (so it's motion would follow the shape of a parabola) and ensure that it reaches the same height, it would still spend β seconds aloft, and a horizontal force vector would be added to the force diagram where there wasn't one before. Additionally, if your friend threw it back to you and it reached the same height, it would spend β seconds aloft, and the horizontal velocity vector would switch direction. There is additional force required to push the ball forward through the air, but when examining the forces, the vertical vector would maintain its value, and the horizontal vector would change.