Velocity and acceleration of an army tank

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SUMMARY

An army tank fires a shell horizontally, which strikes the ground 6000 meters away with a vertical component of velocity vy=200 m/s. The gravitational acceleration is given as g=10 m/s². The solution involves using the equations of motion, specifically v²=2ax and x=at²/2, to determine the time of flight. The critical error identified in the discussion is the incorrect mixing of vertical and horizontal variables in the equations.

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Homework Statement



An army tank on a mountainside fires its gun horizontally. The shell strikes the ground at a horizontal distance of 6000 m away from the tank. As the vertical component of the shell’s striking velocity is vy=200 m/s, how soon after it is fired does the shell strike the ground? (g=10 m/s2)

Homework Equations


v^2=2ax (1)
x=at^2/2 (2)

The Attempt at a Solution


40000=2*a*6000
then find t with (2) but why is it the component vy?
 
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ad848 said:

Homework Statement



An army tank on a mountainside fires its gun horizontally. The shell strikes the ground at a horizontal distance of 6000 m away from the tank. As the vertical component of the shell’s striking velocity is vy=200 m/s, how soon after it is fired does the shell strike the ground? (g=10 m/s2)

Homework Equations


v^2=2ax (1)
x=at^2/2 (2)

The Attempt at a Solution


40000=2*a*6000
then find t with (2) but why is it the component vy?
It isn't. If you use an equation involving vertical acceleration, then the other variables in the equation will be vertical displacement, vertical velocity, etc.

Your mistake is that you mixed a vertical velocity and a horizontal distance in the one equation!
 

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