Question

A balloon is rising vertically upwards at a velocity of 10m/s. When it is at a height of 45m from the ground, a parachute bails out from it. After 3s he opens his parachute and decelerates ata a constant rate 5m/s.when.
(a) what was the height of the parachutist above the ground when he opened his parachute?
(b)How far is the parachutist from the balloon at t=3s?
(c)With what velocity does the parachutist hit the ground?
(d)After how long does the parachutist hit the ground after his exist from the balloon?
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Answer 1

(a) 30.9 m

Let's analyze the motion of the parachutist. Its vertical position above the ground is given by

$y=h+ut+\frac{1}{2}gt^2$

where

h = 45 m is the initial height

u = 10 m/s is the initial velocity (upward)

t is the time

g = -9.8 m/s^2 is the acceleration of gravity (downward)

Substituting t=3 s , we find the height of the parachutist when it opens the parachute:

$y=45 m+(10 m/s)(3 s)+\frac{1}{2}(-9.8 m/s^2)(3 s)^2=30.9 m$

(b) 44.1 m

Here we have to find first the height of the balloon 3 seconds after the parachutist has jumped off from it. The vertical position of the balloon is given by

y = h + ut

where

h = 45 m is the initial height

u = 10 m/s is the initial velocity (upward)

t is the time

Substituting t = 3 s, we find

y = 45 m + (10 m/s)(3 s) = 75 m

So the distance between the balloon and the parachutist after 3 s is

d = 75 m - 30.9 m = 44.1 m

(c) 8.2 m/s downward

The velocity of the parachutist at the moment he opens the parachute is:

v = u +gt

where

u = 10 m/s is the initial velocity (upward)

t is the time

g = -9.8 m/s^2 is the acceleration of gravity (downward)

Substituting t = 3 s,

v = 10 m/s + (-9.8 m/s^2)(3 s)= -19.4 m/s

where the negative sign means it is downward

After t=3 s, the parachutist open the parachute and it starts moving with a deceleration of

a =+5 m/s^2

where we put a positive sign since this time the acceleration is upward.

The total distance he still has to cover till the ground is

d = 30.9 m

So we can find the final velocity by using

$v^2-u^2 = 2ad$

where this time we have u = 19.4 m/s as initial velocity. Taking the downward direction as positive, the deceleration must be considered as negative:

a = -5 m/s^2

Solving for v,

$v=\sqrt{u^2 +2ad}=\sqrt{(19.4 m/s)^2+2(-5 m/s^2)(30.9 m)}=8.2 m/s$

(d) 5.24 s

We can find the duration of the second part of the motion of the parachutist (after he has opened the parachute) by using

$a=\frac{v-u}{t}$

where

a = -5 m/s^2 is the deceleration

v = 8.2 m/s is the final velocity

u = 19.4 m/s is the initial velocity

t is the time

Solving for t, we find

$t=\frac{v-u}{a}=\frac{8.2 m/s-19.4 m/s}{-5 m/s^2}=2.24 s$

And added to the 3 seconds between the instant of the jump and the moment he opens the parachute, the total time is

t = 3 s + 2.24 s = 5.24 s