Suppose the ball falls 1.0000 m in 0.45173 s. Assuming the ball is not affected by air resistance, what is the precise acceleration due to gravity at this location?
Strategy
Draw a sketch.
We need to solve for acceleration
. Note that in this case, displacement is downward and therefore negative, as is acceleration.
Solution
1. Identify the knowns.
;
;
;
.
2. Choose the equation that allows you to solve for
using the known values.
3. Substitute 0 for
and rearrange the equation to solve for
. Substituting 0 for
yields
Solving for
gives
4. Substitute known values yields
so, because
with the directions we have chosen,
Discussion
The negative value for
indicates that the gravitational acceleration is downward, as expected. We expect the value to be somewhere around the average value of
, so
makes sense. Since the data going into the calculation are relatively precise, this value for
is more precise than the average value of
; it represents the local value for the acceleration due to gravity.
A chunk of ice breaks off a glacier and falls 30.0 meters before it hits the water. Assuming it falls freely (there is no air resistance), how long does it take to hit the water?
We know that initial position
, final position
, and
. We can then use the equation
to solve for
. Inserting
, we obtain
where we take the positive value as the physically relevant answer. Thus, it takes about 2.5 seconds for the piece of ice to hit the water.
Learn about graphing polynomials. The shape of the curve changes as the constants are adjusted. View the curves for the individual terms (e.g.
) to see how they add to generate the polynomial curve.
Section summary
An object in free-fall experiences constant acceleration if air resistance is negligible.
On Earth, all free-falling objects have an acceleration due to gravity
, which averages
Whether the acceleration
a should be taken as
or
is determined by your choice of coordinate system. If you choose the upward direction as positive,
is negative. In the opposite case,
is positive. Since acceleration is constant, the kinematic equations above can be applied with the appropriate
or
substituted for
.
For objects in free-fall, up is normally taken as positive for displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
Conceptual questions
What is the acceleration of a rock thrown straight upward on the way up? At the top of its flight? On the way down?
the transfer of energy by a force that causes an object to be displaced; the product of the component of the force in the direction of the displacement and the magnitude of the displacement
A wave is described by the function D(x,t)=(1.6cm) sin[(1.2cm^-1(x+6.8cm/st] what are:a.Amplitude b. wavelength c. wave number d. frequency e. period f. velocity of speed.
A body is projected upward at an angle 45° 18minutes with the horizontal with an initial speed of 40km per second. In hoe many seconds will the body reach the ground then how far from the point of projection will it strike. At what angle will the horizontal will strike
Suppose hydrogen and oxygen are diffusing through air. A small amount of each is released simultaneously. How much time passes before the hydrogen is 1.00 s ahead of the oxygen? Such differences in arrival times are used as an analytical tool in gas chromatography.
the science concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space, and time; it is especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie every phenomenon