2.5 Free Falling Bodies

There is an acceleration that we deal with every single day. Gravity. We will use this for our everyday practices in the mechanics portion of physics. So this section we will discuss various problems and then revisit them either tomorrow (7/26) or (7/27). This will be the last section before the end of chapter 2. We will begin chapter 3, for sure, on Sunday July 28th.

1) A one-euro coin is dropped from the Leaning Tower of Pisa and falls freely from rest. What are its position and velocity after 1.0s, 2.0s, and 4.0s?

2) You throw a ball vertically upward from the roof of a tall building. The ball leaves your hand at a point even with the roof railing with an upward speed of 15.0 m/s; the ball is then in free fall. On its way back down, it just misses the railing. Find (a) the ball’s position and velocity 1.00 s and 4.00 s after leaving your hand; (b) the ball’s velocity when it is 5.00 m above the railing; (c) the maximum height reached; (d) the ball’s acceleration when it is at its maximum height.

Use the equations we learned in the last section. Again we will revisit these problems on 7/27

Mark Jackson
Political Science/Physics Student
Metropolitan State University of Denver