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Mystery #4Tier 1-2physics, water, projectiles

Why does a jet of water from a hose curve down into a lovely arch?

Point a hose upward and the water leaps out in a beautiful curving arch, climbing for a bit and then bending back down to splash on the grass. It never shoots off in a straight jet forever. Water is not solid like a ball, yet it makes the same graceful curve. What bends the streaming water back down to the ground?

A garden sprinkler head throwing a jet of water sideways, the stream leaving as a smooth rope before breaking into a spray of droplets.
Photo: Anton · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Your guess

What do you think makes the jet of water curve back down to the ground?

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