You are standing a far ways away from the base of a tree from which a monkey is hanging on a branch exactly 5 meters above the ground.

This monkey has psychic relaxation syndrome, which means that as soon as the gun goes off, he will let go of the tree branch without realizing it and fall down.

The problem with this is the monkey will fall, and not be where it was before you shot the gun, so it will be in another spot when the bullet is next to the tree. How far below the spot where the monkey's tail is before the shot is fired should you aim so the monkey's tail will be hit regardless of its "letting go" of the tree branch?

(Assume there is zero air resistance.)

(In reply to Just say no by Penny)

I was wondering how long it would take for the animal rights people to get all up in arms.  To which I usually point out that if we were meant to be vegetarians, animals wouldn't be made out of meat.  But in this case, the hunter is just concerned with the tail;  hmm, amputating the monkey's tail.  It's like shark finning.  Even a right wing extremist like me is taken aback and appalled.

But wait!  I just reread the problem, and it said there was zero air resistance.  That means zero air.  So don't worry, Penny, both the monkey and the hunter were both dead before the shot was fired.  This must have been on Mars BEFORE Quaid started the reactor.

Posted by Larry on 2004-05-29 12:55:10