Hunter and Monkey Projectile

About
an open source physics at Singapore simulation based on codes written by Fu Kwun Hwang and Loo Kang WEE.

more simulation are available on support URL


Topics
Kinematics Non-linear motion
Description
Play with the 2 Cannon pointing at each model. This simulation can be used to illustrate the thought experiment "The Monkey and the Hunter" often used to illustrate the effect of gravity on projectile motion.
The Monkey and the Hunter Experiment
A hunter with an arrow goes out in the woods to hunt for monkeys and sees one hanging in a tree. The monkey, we suppose, releases its grip the instant the hunter fires his arrow. Where should the hunter aim and when should he fire in order to hit the monkey?

Answer :
It is conceptually in the green line being without the effects of gravity, the cannons ball will meet as predicted by Newton's 1st Law of motion without net external force. now, adding the same gravitational acceleration means both cannon balls will move down at the same rate ( pink lines). therefore, the 2 cannon balls has to collide .

Sample Learning Goals
(g) solve problems using equations which represent uniformly accelerated motion in a straight line, including the motion of bodies falling in a uniform gravitational field without air resistance


Interesting Fact
3 different scenario are added, involving the same idea of newton's first law in the absence of gravity, resulting on collision after being acted on by the same acceleration.


Acknowledgement
My sincere gratitude for the tireless contributions of Francisco Esquembre, Fu-Kwun Hwang, Wolfgang Christian, Félix Jesús Garcia Clemente, Anne Cox, Andrew Duffy, Todd Timberlake and many more in the Open Source Physics community. I have designed much of the above based on their ideas and insights, and I thank the OSP community for which Singapore was honored with 2015 UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education.