A student wants to investigate the motion of a ball by conducting two different experiments, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 above. In Experiment 1, the student releases a ball from rest and uses a slow-motion camera to film the ball as it falls to the ground. Using video analysis, the student is able to plot the ball’s horizontal position x and vertical position y as a function of time t. In Experiment 2, the student horizontally rolls the same ball off a table, and uses video analysis to plot the ball’s horizontal position x and vertical position y as a function of time t starting from the instant the ball leaves the table. The graphs from each experiment are shown above along with each graph’s best-fit curve line.

Question:
Suppose that Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 are conducted at the same time; one student drops the ball from rest at the same instant that a second student horizontally rolls an identical off the table. After both balls have traveled half their vertical distance to the floor, what is the acceleration of the center of mass of the two-ball system relative to Earth?

A) Equal to g

B) Less than g, but not zero

C) Less than g , but not zero

D) Zero