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Sample Free-Fall Problems With Commentary: For These Examples, The Problems Are in Bold Font, and My

The document provides examples and solutions for two sample free-fall problems. The first example is of a ball thrown upward with an initial velocity of 22.5 m/s and calculates the time for the ball to reach maximum height, the maximum height, the total time in the air, and the final velocity. The second example is of a rock dropped from a cliff 105 m tall and calculates the time for the rock to hit the ground and its final velocity. Key assumptions and equations used to solve free-fall problems are also explained.

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Laurence Bande Del Rosario
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256 views

Sample Free-Fall Problems With Commentary: For These Examples, The Problems Are in Bold Font, and My

The document provides examples and solutions for two sample free-fall problems. The first example is of a ball thrown upward with an initial velocity of 22.5 m/s and calculates the time for the ball to reach maximum height, the maximum height, the total time in the air, and the final velocity. The second example is of a rock dropped from a cliff 105 m tall and calculates the time for the rock to hit the ground and its final velocity. Key assumptions and equations used to solve free-fall problems are also explained.

Uploaded by

Laurence Bande Del Rosario
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sample Free-Fall Problems With Commentary

For these examples, the problems are in bold font, and my commentary and
solution is in red.
Example 1
A ball is thrown directly upward with an initial velocity of 22.5 m/s.
a.
b.
c.
d.

How long will the ball take to reach its maximum height?
What maximum height will the ball reach?
How long will the ball be in the air?
What is the balls final velocity (when it hits the ground)?

This is an example of an object thrown/launched upward problem. After the


ball leaves the persons hand, the only thing acting on it is gravity. For freefall problems like this, there are a few things we can assume even though they
are not mentioned in the problem:

The acceleration on the ball is the acceleration due to gravity, so we


know that g = -9.8 m/s2

At its peak height, the velocity of the ball is zero. So if we are only
solving the FIRST HALF of the motion, then vyf = 0 m/s

With these assumptions, our givens are:


vyi = 22.5 m/s vyf = 0 m/s g = -9.8 m/s2
For part (a), we need to solve for the time it takes to reach the peak. We have
already assumed that the final velocity at the peak is zero. Our unknown in
this case is t. The equation that would be the best to use is:
vyf = vyi + (g)(t)
With our variables plugged in, this becomes:
0 m/s = (22.5 m/s) + (-9.8 m/s2)(t)
Doing the math, we get:
-22.5 m/s = (-9.8 m/s2)(t)
t = 2.2959 s

(ON QUEST)

t = 2.30 s

(IN CORRECT SIG FIGS g does not count for sig figs)

Keep in mind that this is only the answer to the UPWARD PART. This is what
the first question was asking for.

For part (b), there are actually 2 possible equations to use, because we now
know t after solving the first part:
y = (vyi)(t) + (g)(t)2
vyf2 = vyi2 + 2(g)(y)
Out of these 2, the SECOND equation would be the best to use, because it
would only be using given numbers instead of using a calculated number that
we already rounded. Once again, we are only solving the FIRST HALF of the
motion (the part from the ground to the peak), so final velocity is still zero:
0 = (22.5 m/s)2 + 2(-9.8 m/s2)(y)
-(22.5 m/s)2 = 2(-9.8 m/s2)(y)
Now we need to square the 22.5 and divide by both the 2 and the -9.8. When
we do this, you should notice that the negative signs cancel out and we will
get:
y = 103.3163 m (ON QUEST)
y = 103 m

(IN CORRECT SIG FIGS g does not count for sig figs)

In part (c), we want to solve for the WHOLE TIME (both UP and DOWN). This is
easy because the upward part of the motion and the downward part of the
motion are MIRROR IMAGES of one another. This means that the TIME UP is the
SAME as the TIME DOWN. So to get the whole time, we just DOUBLE the time
we got for the upward part:
Total time = 2(t)
Total time = 2(2.2959 s)

(ON QUEST)

Total time = 2(2.30 s)

(CORRECT SIG FIGS)

So we get:
Total time = 4.5918 s

(ON QUEST)

Total time = 4.60 s

(CORRECT SIG FIGS)

For part (d), it is asking for the final velocity in the DOWNWARD PART.
Because the upward part and downward part are MIRROR IMAGES of each other,
we actually dont need to do any calculations. When an object returns to its
launch height, its velocity is the NEGATIVE of its original velocity:
vyf = -22.5 m/s

(ON QUEST AND CORRECT SIG FIGS)

Example 2 A rock is dropped off a cliff that is 105 m tall.


a. How long will it take to hit the ground?
b. What is the rocks final velocity?
This is an example of an object dropped from a height problem. This
problem is actually simpler than the first example because the object is ONLY
MOVING DOWNWARD. After the rock leaves the persons hand, the only thing
acting on it is gravity. For free-fall problems like this, there are a few things
we can assume even though they are not mentioned in the problem:

The acceleration on the rock is the acceleration due to gravity, so we


know that g = -9.8 m/s2

When the rock is initially released from the persons hand, it is not
moving, so we know that vyi = 0 m/s

The rock is only falling downward, so y will be NEGATIVE.

With these assumptions, our givens are:


y = -105 m vyi = 0 m/s g = -9.8 m/s2
For part (a), we need to solve for the time it takes to hit the ground. We have
already assumed that the initial velocity is zero. Our unknown in this case is t.
The equation that would be the best to use is:
y = (vyi)(t) + (g)(t)2
Because vyi is zero, the first term disappears. Plugging in, we get:
-105 m = (-9.8 m/s2)(t)2
This is the same as:
-105 m = (-4.9 m/s2)(t)2
So we need to divide both sides by -4.9, and then TAKE THE SQUARE ROOT to
get t. Doing this, we get:
t = 4.6291 s

(ON QUEST)

t = 4.63 s

(CORRECT SIG FIGS)


Continued on next page

For part (b), there are actually 2 possible equations to use, because we now
know t after solving the first part:
vyf = vyi + (g)(t)
vyf2 = vyi2 + 2(g)(y)
Out of these 2, the SECOND equation would be the best to use, because it
would only be using given numbers instead of using a calculated number that
we already rounded. Once again, we have assumed that the initial velocity is
zero, because the rock is being released from someones hand. Because of this,
the first term will disappear. Our unknown in this part is vyf. Plugging in, we
get:
vyf2 = 2(-9.8 m/s2)(-105 m)
To solve, we need to multiply the numbers on the right, and then TAKE THE
SQUARE ROOT to get the final velocity. Doing this, we get:
vyf = -45.3652 m/s

(ON QUEST)

vyf = -45.4 m/s

(CORRECT SIG FIGS)

Notice that I ADDED A NEGATIVE SIGN to each answer. I did this because I
know that the rock is MOVING DOWNWARD. The equation we were using will
always give a positive answer (because of the square root). Because of this,
you need to MANUALLY ADD the negative sign if you know that an object is
falling downward.

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