You and two of your friends are at the edge of a cliff. Each of you pick up a stone and throw it over the edge at the same time and with the same initial speed. One of you throws the stone at an angle above the horizon, another throws the stone horizontally, and the third throws the stone at an angle below the horizon. Rank the speed of each stone just before it hits the ground from highest to lowest.

The speed of stone while hitting the ground in all the three cases will be same .

Explanation:

The speed of stone while hitting the ground in all the three cases will be same .

They all will have same initial kinetic energy because they have same initial speed . Kinetic energy of an object does not depend upon the direction of velocity  of the object .

They will all gain kinetic energy due to loss of height .Since they all fall from the same height , gain of kinetic energy in all the three cases will also be same .

Hence final kinetic energy will be same when they hit the ground .

Hence they all have same speed while hitting the ground .

moving ball hits still ball. mover stops, hit ball moves. momentum transfer.

potential energy is directly proportional to height.

more height = more potential energy.

greatest increase in height = greatest increase in potential energy

where are the points with the greatest increase in height ?

has to be c-e or d-e .