Question

1) Airplanes are often used to drop water on forest fires in an effort to stop the spread of the fire.

The time t it takes the water to travel from height h to the ground can be derived from the equation h = 1/2 •
gt2 where g is the acceleration due to gravity (32 feet/second2).


2) Suppose a plane drops water from a height of 1,024 feet. How many seconds will it take for the water to hit the ground?

a) 4
b) 16
c) 9
d) 8

Answer 1

To answer the question, substitute the given height to the equation,
h = 0.5gt²
Substituting,
1024 ft = 0.5 x 32 ft/s² x (t²)
The value of t from the derived equation is 8 s. Thus, it will take 8 seconds for the water to reach the forest.