Answer
a). $0.765m$
b). Had the cannon been accelerating, the ball would not have fallen into it.
Work Step by Step
a). Initial vertical velocity = 5 m/s.
$v=u+at$
$0=5-9.8\times t$
$t=0.51 s$
Total time =$2\times 0.51=1.02 s$
So, horizontal distance in this time $=0.75\times 1.02=0.765m$
b). Had the cannon been accelerating, the ball would not have fallen into it. Because the distance traversed by both would be not same for both.