When a ball is thrown horizontally from a height of 6 feet, which of the following accurately describes the motion of the thrown ball compared to a ball that is dropped from the same height?

The correct choice is that both balls will hit the ground at the same time. This conclusion is based on the principles of projectile motion and the independence of vertical and horizontal motion. When the ball is thrown horizontally, it has an initial horizontal velocity but it still falls under the influence of gravity at the same rate as the ball that is simply dropped.

In both cases, the only force acting on the balls in the vertical direction is gravity, which causes both balls to accelerate downward at a rate of approximately 9.81 m/s². Because they start from the same height, their vertical motions are unaffected by any horizontal speeds. As a result, the time it takes for both balls to reach the ground depends solely on the height from which they are dropped, not on their horizontal motion.

Thus, regardless of how fast the thrown ball moves horizontally, both the thrown ball and the dropped ball will hit the ground at the same time when dropped from the same height of 6 feet.