A package is dropped from a plane flying at an attitude of 1800 meters with a speed of 60 m/s. Assuming no air resistance, how much distance does the package take horizontally until landing?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This problem provides the vertical distance (attitude of the plane), vertical acceleration (gravitational constant), and the initial horizontal velocity (speed of the plane). V_x = Horizontal velocity (60 m/s) d_y = vertical displacement of the object (1800 m) d_{x =} unknown (this is what we are solving for) t = unknown (flight time) a = 9.8 m/s² Since we assume there is no air resistance, d_h= V_x t. We solve this problem in two steps. Step 1: Calculate flight time Flight Time = √((vertical distance)/(1/2)(vertical acceleration)) Flight Time = √((1800 m)/(1/2)(9.8 m/s²)) Flight Time = 9.58 s Step 2: Use the horizontal distance equation to solve for horizontal distance d_x = v_xt d_x = 60 m/s x 9.58 s d_x = 574.8 m Since there is no air resistance, the package will travel 574.8 m horizontally.

A Package Is Dropped from a Plane Flying at an Attitude