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A weather balloon is floating at a constant height above Earth when it releases a pack of instruments.

(a) If the pack hits the ground with a velocity of -73.0 m/s, how far does the pack fall?

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

The pack falls approximately 271.44 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we can use the equations of motion under constant acceleration. In this case, the acceleration is due to gravity, which is approximately -9.81 m/s² (negative because it's directed downward). We'll assume that air resistance is negligible.

The equations we'll use are:

Final velocity squared = Initial velocity squared + 2 * acceleration * distance

Distance = Initial velocity * time + 0.5 * acceleration * time^2

Given:

Initial velocity (u) = 0 m/s (the pack is released from rest)

Final velocity (v) = -73.0 m/s (negative because it's directed downward)

Acceleration (a) = -9.81 m/s²

We want to find the distance (s) the pack falls.

Let's use the second equation to solve for distance (s):

v^2 = u^2 + 2as

Substitute the values:

(-73.0 m/s)^2 = (0 m/s)^2 + 2 * (-9.81 m/s²) * s

Simplify and solve for s:

5329 m²/s² = -19.62 m/s² * s

s = 5329 m²/s² / (-19.62 m/s²)

s = -271.44 m

Since distance can't be negative in this context, the negative sign indicates the direction (downward). The pack falls approximately 271.44 meters.

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