Shoot the Monkey Demonstration

A very clever monkey named Mittens has escaped from a zoo. Mittens climbs up a tree to escape the pursuing zookeeper. The only way the zookeeper can get her down now is by hitting her with a stun dart. However, Mittens is wise to the zookeeper’s plan. Not wanting to be hit with the dart, Mittens believes that if she lets go of the tree branch at the same time the zookeeper shoots the dart, the dart will sail over her head as she falls safely to the ground to flee to another tree. The zookeeper knows that Mittens is a very clever monkey. He has a feeling that Mittens will let go of the tree branch as soon as the dart is fired. Where should the zookeeper aim the dart in order to hit the monkey as she falls? Luckily, the zookeeper knows something that Mittens doesn’t—the zookeeper knows a little something about physics.