Chapter 2 - Motion in One Dimension

Problem 27
Question
Clara jumps from a bridge, followed closely by Jim. At a time t, Clara has fallen
exactly twice as far as Jim. Assuming that Jim has a height of 180 cm, and
that Clara is five times Jim’s height below the bridge, how long did Jim wait
after Clara jumped?

Answer
We have simultaneous equations xc = gt2c /2 and xj = gt2j /2. Given xc = 2xj ,
√
p tc = tj 2. Given the information
we can find that p about Clara’s distance, we
can see tc = 2xc /g, letting us find tj = xc /g. To find how long Jim waited,
we simply find the difference between these two times:
r √
xc 
∆t = tc − tj = 2 − 1 ≈ 0.4 s.
g