On a hot summer day in the state of Washington while kayaking, I saw several swimmers jump from a railroad bridge into the Snohomish River below. The swimmers stepped off the bridge, and I estimated that they hit the water 1.50 s later. a.) How high was the bridge?

b.) How fast were the swimmers moving when they hit the water?

c.) What would the swimmer's drop time be if the bridge were twice as high?

Question

Physics

Noelle Hayes

4 August, 02:05

On a hot summer day in the state of Washington while kayaking, I saw several swimmers jump from a railroad bridge into the Snohomish River below. The swimmers stepped off the bridge, and I estimated that they hit the water 1.50 s later. a.) How high was the bridge?

b.) How fast were the swimmers moving when they hit the water?

c.) What would the swimmer's drop time be if the bridge were twice as high?

+5

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Royce Johnson · Answer 1

Time taken to hit the water t = 1.5 s

Initial vertical velocity u = 9.8 ms⁻²

Final velocity to hit the water = v

Height of the bridge = h

a) from the formula

h = ut + 1/2 gt²

= 0 +.5 x 9.8 x 1.5²

= 11.025 m

b) v = ?

v = u + gt

= 0 + 9.8 x 1.5

= 14.7 ms⁻¹.

c) If h = 2 x 11.025

= 22.05 m

h = ut + 1/2 gt²

22.05 = 0 +.5 x 9.8 t²

t² = 4.5

t = 2.12 s.