One ball is dropped. One rolls off the bench. Which lands first?

1 Predict

Both leave the edge of a 1.0 m bench at the same instant. Which hits the floor first?

2 Test it

Change how fast ball B rolls off the edge, then run it. Watch the timer for each ball.

3 Why

Answer: They land together

Horizontal and vertical motion are independent. Both balls leave the bench with no vertical speed and both accelerate downward at g = 9.8 m/s².

So both take t = √(2h/g) = √(2.0/9.8) ≈ 0.45 s to fall 1.0 m. Rolling faster only changes where ball B lands, not when.