The cannon on a battleship can fire a shell a maximum distance of 36.7 km.
(a) Calculate the initial velocity of the shell in meters per second. (Enter the magnitude.) m/s
(b) What maximum height in meters does it reach? (At its highest, the shell is above a substantial part of the atmosphere—but air resistance is not really negligible as assumed to make this problem easier. Assume the shell has been fired so as to maximize horizontal distance.) m
(c) The ocean is not flat, because the earth is curved. Assume that the radius of the Earth is 6.37 ✕ 103 km. How many meters lower will its surface be 36.7 km from the ship along a horizontal line parallel to the surface at the ship? m
Does your answer imply that error introduced by the assumption of a flat Earth in projectile motion is significant here? (Select all that apply.)
The error is insignificant compared to the size of a target.
The error could be significant compared to the distance of travel.
The error is insignificant compared to the distance of travel.
The error could be significant compared to the size of a target.
