Newton's First Law Explained: Ball Dropped From Moving Ship

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According to Newton's First Law, an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external force. When a ball is dropped from the top of a moving ship, it retains the horizontal velocity of the ship at the moment of release. As a result, the ball continues to move forward while falling, landing directly at the base of the mast rather than behind the ship. This illustrates that the net force acting on the ball is zero in the horizontal direction, allowing it to maintain its forward motion. Thus, the ball's trajectory is influenced by both its initial horizontal velocity and the downward force of gravity.
lauralovesyou
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A ball released from the top of the mast of a moving ship lands at the base of the mast. Explain this according to Newtons' first law.

I just know that the first law is that if the net force acting on an object is zero, the object will maintain its state of rest or constant velocity. How does it apply to this scenario?
 
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I think the question is asking why the ball falls at the base of the mast rather than somewhere behind the ship, below the point from which it was dropped.
Remember that the first law works in the horizontal direction even when there is a force in the vertical direction.
 
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