Question

A penny is dropped from the top of a building 290 m high. Ignoring air resistance, if

Answer 1

Answer:

1. Velocity = 75.39 m/s

2. Air resistance

3. Mass of the coin

Explanation:

1. Given that the height of the building is 290 m. From Newton's third law of motion,

$V^{2}$ = $U^{2}$ + 2gh

where: V is the final velocity of the coin, U is the initial velocity, g is the force of gravity and h is the height.

Since the coin was dropped from a height, its initial velocity is zero. The force of gravity is taken as 9.8 m/$s^{2}$, so that:

$V^{2}$ = 0 + 2 x 9.8 x 290

   = 5684

V   = $\sqrt{5684}$

    = 75.3923

The velocity with which the coin hits the ground is 75.39 m/s.

2. Air resistance: During the free fall of the coin, the direction of wind flow could either cause an increase or decrease the value predicted.

ii. Mass of the coin: This can also affect the predicted value.