De Aap en de banaan

The Monkey andZookeeper

An Introduction

A GIF Animation

Er zit een interessante aap in de zoo van Sint-Denijs-Westrem. Themonkey spends most of its day hanging from a limb of a tree. Thezookeeper feeds the monkey by shooting bananas from a banana cannonto the monkey in the tree. This particular monkey has a habit ofdropping from the tree the moment that the banana leaves the muzzleof the cannon. The zookeeper is faced with the dilemna of where toaim the banana cannon in order to hit the monkey. If the monkey letsgo of the tree the moment that the banana is fired, then whereshould she aim the banana cannon?

To ponder this dilemna, consider the following questions.

Throw at the Monkey in a Gravity Free Environment
If there were no gravity, then what would happen if the banana was thrown at the monkey? What path would the banana take and would it hit the monkey?
Throw above the Monkey with Gravity On

If there was gravity acting upon both the monkey and the banana (the usual situation), then what would happen if the banana was thrown above the monkey? What paths would the banana and the monkey take? Would the banana fall (below the straight-line path) and hit the monkey as the monkey drops from the tree? Or would the banana miss the monkey, moving straight above his head?

Throw at the Monkey at a Fast Speed with Gravity On
If there was gravity acting upon both the monkey and the banana (the usual situation), then what would happen if the banana was thrown at the monkey with a fast speed? What paths would the banana and the monkey take? Would the banana fall (below the straight-line path) and hit the monkey as the monkey drops from the tree? Or would the banana merely move in a straight line and hit the monkey immediately? Or would the banana miss the monkey, moving straight above his head (or even below his head)?
Throw at the Monkey at a Slow Speed with Gravity On

If there was gravity acting upon both the monkey and the banana (the usual situation), then what would happen if the banana was thrown at the monkey with a slow speed? What paths would the banana and the monkey take? Would the banana fall (below the straight-line path) and hit the monkey as the monkey drops from the tree? Or would the banana not have enough speed to hit the monkey as it was falling (presumably, because the monkey would fall faster than the

slow

banana)?

Click on any of the above links to explore the zookeeper'sdilemna.

For more information on physical descriptions of motion,visitThePhysics Classroom. Specific information is available there on thefollowing topics:

Other animations can be seen at theMultimediaPhysics Studios. Other useful resources regarding the physics ofmotion is available through theGlenbrookSouth Physics Home Page.

This page was created byTomHenderson ofGlenbrook SouthHigh School.

Comments and suggestions can be sent by e-mail toTomHenderson.

This page last updated on 2/28/97.

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