- #1
gerry73191
- 29
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Homework Statement
A volcano shoots a lava bomb straight upward. Does the displacement of the lava bomb depend on your choice of origin and/or your choice of positive direction?
Homework Equations
[tex]y(t)=vt-\frac{1}{2}gt^2[/tex]
The Attempt at a Solution
first I tried just remembering my old physics lectures. I remember my teacher saying something about having free choice of origin and and positive direction.
But, I tried to prove that by
taking the derivative of [tex]y(t)=vt-\frac{1}{2}gt^2+a[/tex]; where a is the y coordinate of the origin.
Solving for when velocity is 0, I took that value and subsituted it into y(t).
To me it seems the "a" term changes the value of the displacement.
But I'm not sure
Please help.
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