Free fall

Sarijono Problems
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• Problem 1 • Problem 11 • Solution 1 • Solution 11
• Problem 2 • Problem 12 • Solution 2 • Solution 12
• Problem 3 • Problem 13 • Solution 3 • Solution 13
• Problem 4 • Problem 14 • Solution 4 • Solution 14
• Problem 5 • Problem 15 • Solution 5 • Solution 15
• Problem 6 • Problem 16 • Solution 6 • Solution 16
• Problem 7 • Problem 17 • Solution 7 • Solution 17
• Problem 8 • Problem 18 • Solution 8 • Solution 18
• Problem 9 • Problem 19 • Solution 9 • Solution 19
• Problem 10 • Problem 20 • Solution 10 • Solution 20

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 Check Your Understanding
Anwer 1
• An airplane accelerates down a runway at
3.20 m/s2 for 32.8 s until is finally lifts off
the ground. Determine the distance
traveled before takeoff.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
2
• A car starts from rest and accelerates
uniformly over a time of 5.21 seconds for a
distance of 110 m. Determine the
acceleration of the car.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
3
• Upton Chuck is riding the Giant Drop at
Great America. If Upton free falls for 2.6
seconds, what will be his final velocity and
how far will he fall?

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Check Your Understanding Anwer 4
• Upton Chuck is riding the Giant Drop at
Great America. If Upton free falls for 2.6
seconds, what will be his final velocity and
how far will he fall?

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
5
• A feather is dropped on the moon from a
height of 1.40 meters. The acceleration of
gravity on the moon is 1.67 m/s2.
Determine the time for the feather to fall to
the surface of the moon.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
6
• Rocket-powered sleds are used to test the
human response to acceleration. If a
rocket-powered sled is accelerated to a
speed of 444 m/s in 1.8 seconds, then
what is the acceleration and what is the
distance which the sled travels?

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
7
• A bike accelerates uniformly from rest to a
speed of 7.10 m/s over a distance of 35.4
m. Determine the acceleration of the bike.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
8
• An engineer is designing the runway for an
airport. Of the planes which will use the
airport, the lowest acceleration rate is
likely to be 3 m/s2. The takeoff speed for
this plane will be 65 m/s. Assuming this
minimum acceleration, what is the
minimum allowed length for the runway?

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
9
• A car traveling at 22.4 m/s skids to a stop
in 2.55 s. Determine the skidding distance
of the car (assume uniform acceleration).

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
10
• A kangaroo is capable of jumping to a
height of 2.62 m. Determine the takeoff
speed of the kangaroo.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
11
• If Michael Jordan has a vertical leap of
1.29 m, then what is his takeoff speed and
his hang time (total time to move upwards
to the peak and then return to the
ground)?

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
12
• A bullet leaves a rifle with a muzzle
velocity of 521 m/s. While accelerating
through the barrel of the rifle, the bullet
moves a distance of 0.840 m. Determine
the acceleration of the bullet (assume a
uniform acceleration).

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
13
• A baseball is popped straight up into the
air and has a hang-time of 6.25 s.
Determine the height to which the ball
rises before it reaches its peak. (Hint: the
time to rise to the peak is one-half the total
hang-time.)

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
14
• The observation deck of tall skyscraper
370 m above the street. Determine the
time required for a penny to free fall from
the deck to the street below.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
15
• A bullet is moving at a speed of 367 m/s
when it embeds into a lump of moist clay.
The bullet penetrates for a distance of
0.0621 m. Determine the acceleration of
the bullet while moving into the clay.
(Assume a uniform acceleration.)

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
16
• A stone is dropped into a deep well and is
heard to hit the water 3.41 s after being
dropped. Determine the depth of the well.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
17
• It was once recorded that a Jaguar left
skid marks which were 290 m in length.
Assuming that the Jaguar skidded to a
stop with a constant acceleration of -3.90
m/s2, determine the speed of the Jaguar
before it began to skid.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
18
• A plane has a takeoff speed of 88.3 m/s
and requires 1365 m to reach that speed.
Determine the acceleration of the plane
and the time required to reach this speed.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
19
• A dragster accelerates to a speed of 112
m/s over a distance of 398 m. Determine
the acceleration (assume uniform) of the
dragster.

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Check Your Understanding Anwer
20
• With what speed in miles/hr (1 m/s = 2.23
mi/hr) must an object be thrown to reach a
height of 91.5 m (equivalent to one football
field)? Assume negligible air resistance.

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 Solution 1
Given: a = +3.2 m/s2, t = 32.8 s, vi = 0 m/s
Find: d = ??

Solution:
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
d = (0 m/s)*(32.8 s)+ 0.5*(3.20 m/s2)*(32.8 s)2
d = 1720 m

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 Solution 2
Given: d = 110 m, t = 5.21 s, vi = 0 m/s
Find: a = ??

Solution:
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
110 m = (0 m/s)*(5.21 s)+ 0.5*(a)*(5.21 s)2
110 m = (13.57 s2)*a
a = (110 m)/(13.57 s2)
a = 8.10 m/ s2

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 Solution 3
Given: a = -9.8 m, t = 2.6 s, vi = 0 m/s
Find : d = ??; vf = ??

Solution:
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
d = (0 m/s)*(2.6 s)+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(2.6 s)2
d = 33 m
vf = vi + a*t
vf = 0 + (-9.8 m/s2)*(2.6 s)
vf = -25.5 m/s (- indicates direction)

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 Solution 4
Given: vi = 18.5 m/s, vf = 46.1 m/s, t = 2.47 s
Find : d = ??; a = ??

Solution:
a = (Delta v)/t
a = (46.1 m/s - 18.5 m/s)/(2.47 s)
a = 11.2 m/s2
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
d = (18.5 m/s)*(2.47 s)+ 0.5*(11.2 m/s2)*(2.47 s)2
d = 45.7 m + 34.1 m
d = 79.8 m
(Note: the d can also be calculated using the equation vf2 = vi2 +
2*a*d)

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 Solution 5
Given : vi = 0 m/s; d = -1.40 m, a = -1.67 m/s2
Find : t = ??

Solution:
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
-1.40 m = (0 m/s)*(t)+ 0.5*(-1.67 m/s2)*(t)2
-1.40 m = 0+ (-0.835 m/s2)*(t)2
(-1.40 m)/(-0.835 m/s2) = t2
1.68 s2 = t2
t = 1.29 s

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 Solution 6
Given: vi = 0 m/s, vf = 44 m/s, t = 1.80 s
Find : a = ??; d = ??
Solution:
a = (Delta v)/t
a = (444 m/s - 0 m/s)/(1.80 s)
a = 247 m/s2
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
d = (0 m/s)*(1.80 s)+ 0.5*(247 m/s2)*(1.80 s)2
d = 0 m + 400 m
d = 400 m
• (Note: the d can also be calculated using the equation
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d)

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 Solution 7
Given: vi = 0 m/s, vf = 7.10 m/s, d = 35.4 m
Find : a = ??

Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(7.10 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(35.4 m)
50.4 m2/s2 = (0 m/s)2 + (70.8 m)*a
(50.4 m2/s2)/(70.8 m) = a
a = 0.712 m/s2

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 Solution 8
Given: vi = 0 m/s, vf = 65 m/s, a = 3 m/s2
Find : d = ??
Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(65 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(3 m/s2)*d
4225 m2/s2 = (0 m/s)2 + (6 m/s2)*d
(4225 m2/s2)/(6 m/s2) = d
d = 704 m

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 Solution 9
Given: vi = 22.4 m/s, vf = 0 m/s, t = 2.55 s
Find : d = ??

Solution:
d = (vi + vf)/2 *t
d = (22.4 m/s + 0 m/s)/2 *2.55 s
d = (11.2 m/s)*2.55 s
d = 28.6 m

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 Solution 10
Given: a = -9.8 m/s2, vf = 0 m/s, d = 2.62 m
Find : vi = ??

Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(2.62 m)
0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 51.35 m2/s2
51.35 m2/s2 = vi2
vi = 7.17 m/s

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 Solution 11
Given: a = -9.8 m/s2, vf = 0 m/s, d = 1.29 m
Find : vi = ??; t = ??
Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(1.29 m)
0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 25.28 m2/s2
25.28 m2/s2 = vi2
vi = 5.03 m/s
To find hang time, find the time to the peak and then double it.
vf = vi + a*t
0 m/s = 5.03 m/s + (-9.8 m/s2)*tup
-5.03 m/s = (-9.8 m/s2)*tup
(-5.03 m/s)/(-9.8 m/s2) = tup
tup = 0.513 s
hang time = 1.03 s

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 Solution 12
Given: vi = 0 m/s, vf = 521 m/s, d = 0.840 m
Find : a = ??

Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(521 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(0.840 m)
271441 m2/s2 = (0 m/s)2 + (1.68 m)*a
(271441 m2/s2)/(1.68 m) = a
a = 1.62*105 m /s2

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 Solution 13
Given: a = -9.8 m/s2, vf = 0 m/s, t = 3.13 s
Find : d = ??

Solution:
• (NOTE: the time required to move to the peak of the trajectory is one-half
the total hang time.)
First use: vf = vi + a*t
0 m/s = vi + (-9.8 m/s2)*(3.13 s)
0 m/s = vi - 30.6 m/s
vi = 30.6 m/s
Now use: vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(0 m/s)2 = (30.6 m/s)2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(d)
0 m2/s2 = (938 m/s) + (-19.6 m/s2)*d
-938 m/s = (-19.6 m/s2)*d
(-938 m/s)/(-19.6 m/s2) = d
d = 47.9 m

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 Solution 14
Given: vi = 0 m/s, d = -370 m, a = -9.8 m/s2
Find : t = ??

Solution:
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
-370 m = (0 m/s)*(t)+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(t)2
-370 m = 0+ (-4.9 m/s2)*(t)2
(-370 m)/(-4.9 m/s2) = t2
75.5 s2 = t2
t = 8.69 s

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 Solution 15
Given: vi = 367 m/s, vf = 0 m/s, d = 0.0621 m
Find : a = ??
Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(0 m/s)2 = (367 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(0.0621 m)
0 m2/s2 = (134689 m2/s2) + (0.1242 m)*a
-134689 m2/s2 = (0.1242 m)*a
(-134689 m2/s2)/(0.1242 m) = a
a = -1.08*106 m /s2
(The - sign indicates that the bullet slowed down.)

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 Solution 16
Given: a = -9.8 m/s2, t = 3.41 s, vi = 0 m/s
Find : d = ??
Solution:
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
d = (0 m/s)*(2.6 s)+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(3.41 s)2
d = 0 m+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(11.63 s2)
d = -57.0 m
• (NOTE: the - sign indicates direction)

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 Solution 17
Given: a = -3.90 m/s2, vf = 0 m/s, d = 290 m
Find : vi = ??

Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-3.90 m/s2)*(290 m)
0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 2262 m2/s2
2262 m2/s2 = vi2
vi = 47.6 m /s

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 Solution 18
Given: vi = 0 m/s, vf = 88.3 m/s, d = 1365 m
Find : a = ??; t = ??
Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(88.3 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(1365 m)
7797 m2/s2 = (0 m2/s2) + (2730 m)*a
7797 m2/s2 = (2730 m)*a
(7797 m2/s2)/(2730 m) = a
a = 2.86 m/s2
vf = vi + a*t
88.3 m/s = 0 m/s + (2.86 m/s2)*t
(88.3 m/s)/(2.86 m/s2) = t
t = 30. 8 s
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 Solution 19
Given: vi = 0 m/s, vf = 112 m/s, d = 398 m
Find : a = ??
Solution:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(112 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(398 m)
12544 m2/s2 = 0 m2/s2 + (796 m)*a
12544 m2/s2 = (796 m)*a
(12544 m2/s2)/(796 m) = a
a = 15.8 m/s2

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 Solution 20
Given: a = -9.8 m/s2, vf = 0 m/s, d = 91.5 m
Find : vi = ??; t = ??
Solution:
First, find speed in units of m/s:
vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(91.5 m)
0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 1793 m2/s2
1793 m2/s2 = vi2
vi = 42.3 m/s
Now convert from m/s to mi/hr:
vi = 42.3 m/s * (2.23 mi/hr)/(1 m/s)
vi = 94.4 mi/hr

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