What distance from the island does the pilot have to release the supplies so that they land on the island?
Nov 08, 2009
in
Hurricane
A plane is flying over the devastated region around Jamaica after Hurricane Ivan. It will drop supplies of food and clothing to the people stranded below. The plane is flying at 20 m/s horizontally and is at a height of 2 km from the ground. What distance from the island does the pilot have to release the supplies so that they land on the island?
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2 comments
DFunk on November 8, 2009 at 11:49 pm
You have to use vector quanities and also use velocity
TychaBrahe on November 8, 2009 at 11:49 pm
From a height of 2 km = 2000 m, how long does it take the package to hit the ground?
s = (1/2) * a * t^2
2000 m = (1/2) * 9.8 m/s^2 * t^2
2000 m * 2 / 9.8 m/s^2 = t^2
408 s^2 = t^2
20 s = t
In the 20 s that the package is falling, how far will it travel horizontally?
s = vt
s = 20 m/s * 20 s
s = 400 m
The pilot has to release the package 400 m before the drop zone in order to have it land in the desired location.