Physics 30S

Free Fall
a.k.a. one dimensional kinematics problems involving gravity.
The term free fall describes the motion of an object in a vertical direction (up or down). For example, if a pen falls from a desk to the floor or a person throws a pen into the air, we might measure the distance the object falls and the velocity with which it falls. When an object moves in a free fall it is always moving with a constant acceleration, which is called acceleration due to gravity or gravitational acceleration. It is this gravitational force which prevents the freefalling object from flying. Gravitational acceleration always has a value of 9.83 m/s2 (near the earths surface). A special symbol "g" is assigned to gravitational acceleration and is used in formulas in order to distinguish acceleration due to gravity from other kinds of accelerations. Problem solving hints: 1. The acceleration of a freely falling abject is NOT always given in a problem it is just assumed. 2. More than any other kinematics problem BE CAREFUL about direction. Typically we assume anything downward (as in g) is negative and anything upward if positive. BE SURE you put the right signs in.
After completing this topic, you should be able to do the following. 1. Identify the acceleration of an object in free fall near the earths surface to be -9.8 m/s2 if air resistance is not a factor. 2. Recount Galileos supposed experiment at Pisa. 3. Use the kinematics equations developed earlier to describe the motion of an object in free fall.

Write the FOUR kinematics formulae in terms of g instead of a

Problems.
1. Bob drops (drop means from rest) a penny off the top of the Richardson Building. Considering that the height of the building is 165 m and ignoring air resistance find a) the velocity of the penny when it hits the ground, and b) the time it takes for the penny to reach the ground. Bob is standing on a cliff that is 65 m high. He leans over the edge and tosses a stone straight up with an initial speed of 15.0 m/s. Find a) its speed of impact with the ground below, b) the time it takes for the stone to hit the ground below, and c) the total distance the stone traveled.
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Physics 30S

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Suppose in (2) Bob leans over the edge and throws a stone down with a velocity of 15.0 m/s. How do your answers for (a), (b), and (c) compare? If one is the same, why is that? With what initial speed must an arrow be fired straight up so as to just attain a height of 75.0 m above the ground before stopping? A ball is thrown straight up into the air. Eight seconds later it returns to its point of release. What was the initial velocity of the ball? A diver springs upward with an initial velocity of 3.80 m/s from the 3.00 m board. a) With what velocity does he hit the water? b) What is his highest point above the water? A stone is dropped into a river from a bridge 43.9 m above the water. Another stone is thrown vertically down 1.00 s after the first is dropped. Both stones strike the water at the same time. What is the initial speed of the second stone? One student stands on the top a 45.0 m building. Another student stands on the ground and throws a ball vertically to the student on the top of the building who reaches out to catch the ball. Neglecting the height of the students: a) What is the minimum vertical speed at which the ball must be launched so that it just reaches the student on the top of the building? b) How long will it take the ball to rise to its highest point (the top of the building) after it is launched? c) What is the speed of the ball when it has risen to half its maximum height? d) If the ball is not caught, what is the velocity and direction of the ball 4.40 seconds after it was launched? A toy rocket is observed to accelerate upwards at a uniform acceleration of 12.5 m/s2 for 3.50 s before its engine shuts off. If air resistance is negligible: a) What is the maximum upward speed the rocket will be moving when its engine shuts down? b) What is the maximum height that the rocket will reach above the ground? c) How long will the rocket be in flight? d) How fast will the rocket be moving when it returns to the ground?

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Answers:
1) 56.9 m/s ; 5.8 s 2) 39 m/s ; 5.5 s ; 88 m 3) -39 m/s ; 2.4 s ; 65 m ; Stone returns to the level of the cliff with the same speed (opp. velocity) as in (2) 4) 38.3 m/s 5) 39 m/s 6) -8.6 m/s ; .73 m 7) 12.2 m/s 8) 29.7 m/s ; 3.03 s ; 21.0 m/s (d= +22.5 m, use vi) ; 35.8 m/s 9) 43.8 m/s ; 174 (76.6+97.5) m ; 13.9 s ; 58.3 m/s

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