FREE FALL ERICK JOSHUA

Check Your Understanding

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

3.

Upton Chuck is riding the Giant Drop at Great America. If Upton free
falls for 2.60 seconds, what will be his final velocity and how far will he
fall?
See Answer
See solution below.

4.

A race car accelerates uniformly from 18.5 m/s to 46.1 m/s in 2.47
seconds. Determine the acceleration of the car and the distance traveled.
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

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 1.83 seconds, then what is the acceleration and what is the distance
that the sled travels?
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

8.

An engineer is designing the runway for an airport. Of the planes that

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?
See Answer
See solution below.

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).
See Answer
See solution below.

10. A kangaroo is capable of jumping to a height of 2.62 m. Determine the

takeoff speed of the kangaroo.
See Answer
See solution below.

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)?
See Answer
See solution below.

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).
See Answer
See solution below.

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.)
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

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.)
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

17. It was once recorded that a Jaguar left skid marks that 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.
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

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.
See Answer
See solution below.

Solutions to Above Problems

1.
Given:

Find:

a = +3.2 m/s2

t = 32.8 s

3.

vi = 0 m/s

d = ??

2.
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
d = (0 m/s)*(32.8 s)+ 0.5*(3.20 m/s2)*(32.8 s)2
4.
5.

d = 1720 m

Return to Problem 1
6.

7.
Given:

Find:

d = 110 m

t = 5.21 s
9.

vi = 0 m/s

a = ??

8.
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2
110 m = (0 m/s)*(5.21 s)+ 0.5*(a)*(5.21 s)2
10.

110 m = (13.57 s2)*a

11.

a = (110 m)/(13.57 s2)

12.

13.

a = 8.10 m/ s2

Return to Problem 2
14.

15.
Given:

Find:

a = -9.8 m

t = 2.6 s

17.

vi = 0 m/s

16. d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2

d = (0 m/s)*(2.60 s)+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(2.60 s)2
18.

d = -33.1 m (- indicates direction)

d = ??
vf = ??

19.
20.
21.

vf = vi + a*t

vf = 0 + (-9.8 m/s2)*(2.60 s)

vf = -25.5 m/s (- indicates direction)

22.

Return to Problem 3
23.

24.
Given:

Find:

vi = 18.5 m/s

vf = 46.1 m/s

27.
28.

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

30.

d = 45.7 m + 34.1 m
31.

32.

d = ??
a = ??

25. a = (Delta v)/t

a = (46.1 m/s - 18.5 m/s)/(2.47 s)

26.

29.

t = 2.47 s

d = 79.8 m

(Note: the d can also be calculated using the equation vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d)
33.

Return to Problem 4

34.
35.
Given:

Find:

vi = 0 m/s

d = -1.40 m
37.

a = -1.67 m/s2

t = ??

36. d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2

-1.40 m = (0 m/s)*(t)+ 0.5*(-1.67 m/s2)*(t)2
38.
39.

-1.40 m = 0+ (-0.835 m/s2)*(t)2

(-1.40 m)/(-0.835 m/s2) = t2

42.

40.

1.68 s2 = t2

41.

t = 1.29 s

Return to Problem 5

43.
44.
Given:
vi = 0 m/s

Find:
vf = 444 m/s

t = 1.83 s

a = ??

d = ??
45. a = (Delta v)/t
a = (444 m/s - 0 m/s)/(1.83 s)

46.

47.
48.
49.

a = 243 m/s2
d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2

d = (0 m/s)*(1.83 s)+ 0.5*(243 m/s2)*(1.83 s)2

50.

d = 0 m + 406 m
51.

52.

d = 406 m

(Note: the d can also be calculated using the equation vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d)
53.

Return to Problem 6

54.
55.
Given:

Find:

vi = 0 m/s

vf = 7.10 m/s
57.
58.

d = 35.4 m

a = ??

56. 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
59.

(50.4 m2/s2)/(70.8 m) = a
60.

61.

a = 0.712 m/s2
Return to Problem 7

62.
63.
Given:

Find:

vi = 0 m/s

vf = 65 m/s

a = 3 m/s2

65.

64. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

(65 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(3 m/s2)*d

66.

4225 m2/s2 = (0 m/s)2 + (6 m/s2)*d

67.

(4225 m2/s2)/(6 m/s2) = d

68.

69.

d = ??

d = 704 m

Return to Problem 8

70.
71.
Given:

Find:

vi = 22.4 m/s

vf = 0 m/s
73.

t = 2.55 s

d = ??

72. d = (vi + vf)/2 *t

d = (22.4 m/s + 0 m/s)/2 *2.55 s
74.

d = (11.2 m/s)*2.55 s
75.

76.

d = 28.6 m

Return to Problem 9

77.
78.
Given:

Find:

a = -9.8 m/s2

vf = 0 m/s
80.

d = 2.62 m

vi = ??

79. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

(0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(2.62 m)
81.

0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 51.35 m2/s2

82.

51.35 m2/s2 = vi2

83.
84.

vi = 7.17 m/s

Return to Problem 10

85.
86.
Given:

Find:

a = -9.8 m/s2

vf = 0 m/s

88.

vi = ??
t = ??

87. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

(0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(1.29 m)
89.

0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 25.28 m2/s2

90.

25.28 m2/s2 = vi2

91.
92.

d = 1.29 m

vi = 5.03 m/s

To find hang time, find the time to the peak and then double it.
93.
94.

vf = vi + a*t

0 m/s = 5.03 m/s + (-9.8 m/s2)*tup

95.
96.

-5.03 m/s = (-9.8 m/s2)*tup

(-5.03 m/s)/(-9.8 m/s2) = tup
97.
98.

tup = 0.513 s

hang time = 1.03 s

99.

Return to Problem 11

100.
101.
Given:

Find:

vi = 0 m/s

vf = 521 m/s

d = 0.840 m

a = ??

102. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

103. (521 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(0.840 m)
104. 271441 m2/s2 = (0 m/s)2 + (1.68 m)*a
105. (271441 m2/s2)/(1.68 m) = a
106. a = 1.62*105 m /s2
107. Return to Problem 12
108.
109.
Given:

Find:

a = -9.8 m/s2
a.

vf = 0 m/s

t = 3.13 s

d = ??

(NOTE: the time required to move to the peak of the trajectory is

one-half the total hang time - 3.125 s.)
First use: vf = vi + a*t
0 m/s = vi + (-9.8 m/s2)*(3.13 s)
0 m/s = vi - 30.7 m/s
vi = 30.7 m/s (30.674 m/s)
Now use: vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
(0 m/s)2 = (30.7 m/s)2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(d)
0 m2/s2 = (940 m2/s2) + (-19.6 m/s2)*d
-940 m2/s2 = (-19.6 m/s2)*d
(-940 m2/s2)/(-19.6 m/s2) = d
d = 48.0 m
Return to Problem 13

110.
Given:
vi = 0 m/s

Find:
d = -370 m

a = -9.8 m/s2

t = ??

111. d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2

112. -370 m = (0 m/s)*(t)+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(t)2
113. -370 m = 0+ (-4.9 m/s2)*(t)2
114. (-370 m)/(-4.9 m/s2) = t2
115. 75.5 s2 = t2
116. t = 8.69 s
117. Return to Problem 14
118.
119.
Given:

Find:

vi = 367 m/s

vf = 0 m/s

d = 0.0621 m

a = ??

120. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

121. (0 m/s)2 = (367 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(0.0621 m)
122. 0 m2/s2 = (134689 m2/s2) + (0.1242 m)*a
123. -134689 m2/s2 = (0.1242 m)*a
124. (-134689 m2/s2)/(0.1242 m) = a
125. a = -1.08*106 m /s2
126. (The - sign indicates that the bullet slowed down.)
127. Return to Problem 15
128.
129.
Given:

Find:

a = -9.8 m/s2

t = 3.41 s

vi = 0 m/s

d = ??

130. d = vi*t + 0.5*a*t2

131. d = (0 m/s)*(3.41 s)+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(3.41 s)2
132. d = 0 m+ 0.5*(-9.8 m/s2)*(11.63 s2)
133. d = -57.0 m
134. (NOTE: the - sign indicates direction)
135. Return to Problem 16
136.
137.
Given:
a = -3.90 m/s2

Find:
vf = 0 m/s

d = 290 m

vi = ??

138. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

139. (0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-3.90 m/s2)*(290 m)
140. 0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 2262 m2/s2
141. 2262 m2/s2 = vi2
142. vi = 47.6 m /s
143. Return to Problem 17
144.
145.
Given:
vi = 0 m/s

Find:
vf = 88.3 m/s

d = 1365 m

a = ??
t = ??

146. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

147. (88.3 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(1365 m)
148. 7797 m2/s2 = (0 m2/s2) + (2730 m)*a
149. 7797 m2/s2 = (2730 m)*a
150. (7797 m2/s2)/(2730 m) = a
151. a = 2.86 m/s2
152. vf = vi + a*t
153. 88.3 m/s = 0 m/s + (2.86 m/s2)*t
154. (88.3 m/s)/(2.86 m/s2) = t
155. t = 30. 8 s
156. Return to Problem 18
157.
158.
Given:
vi = 0 m/s

Find:
vf = 112 m/s

d = 398 m

159. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d

160. (112 m/s)2 = (0 m/s)2 + 2*(a)*(398 m)
161. 12544 m2/s2 = 0 m2/s2 + (796 m)*a
162. 12544 m2/s2 = (796 m)*a
163. (12544 m2/s2)/(796 m) = a
164. a = 15.8 m/s2
165. Return to Problem 19

a = ??

166.
167.
Given:
a = -9.8 m/s2

Find:
vf = 0 m/s

d = 91.5 m

168. First, find speed in units of m/s:

169. vf2 = vi2 + 2*a*d
170. (0 m/s)2 = vi2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s2)*(91.5 m)
171. 0 m2/s2 = vi2 - 1793 m2/s2
172. 1793 m2/s2 = vi2
173. vi = 42.3 m/s
174. Now convert from m/s to mi/hr:
175. vi = 42.3 m/s * (2.23 mi/hr)/(1 m/s)
176. vi = 94.4 mi/hr
177. Return to Problem 20

vi = ??
t = ??