Kinematics - Physics for

Scientists and Engineers I -

Solved Problem Sets
Engineering Physics
Alliance University
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 PHYS 2210 — Spring 2013
GA2 Solutions

Problem 1 One-Dimensional Kinematics: Skydivers

The U of U Skydiving Club has asked you to plan a stunt for an air show. In this stunt, two
skydivers will step out of opposite sides of a stationary hot air balloon 5,000 feet above the ground.
The second skydiver will leave the balloon 20 seconds after the first skydiver, but you want them
both to land on the ground at the same time. The show is planned for a day with no wind so you
may assume all motion is vertical. To get a rough idea of the situation, assume that a skydiver will
fall with a constant acceleration of 32 ft/sec2 before the parachute opens. As soon as the parachute
is opened, the skydiver falls with a constant speed of 10 ft/sec. If the first skydiver, Sue, waits 3
seconds after stepping out of the balloon before opening her parachute, how long must the second
skydiver, Joe, wait after leaving the balloon before opening his parachute?

Solution
One Strategy
Begin by computing the time it takes Sue to hit ground after pulling her chute and add this time
to 3 seconds for the total time Sue falls. First we note that Sue accelerates from rest at a rate
of a = −g = −32 f t/s2 (free fall - F F ) for tSue,F F = 3 seconds and then travels with a constant
velocity vchute = −10 ft/s for tSue,chute seconds until she reaches a total fall distance of 5,000 ft:

1
ySue,f inal = ySue,0 + vSue,0 · tSue,F F + a · t2Sue,F F + vchute · tSue,chute (1)
2
1
=⇒ 0 = 5, 000 f t + 0 + (−32 f t/s2 )(3 s)2 + (−10 f t/s)tSue,chute (2)
2
=⇒ tSue,chute = 485.6 s, (3)

where we have used given information: a = −g = −32 f t/s2 , vchute = −10 f t/s, ySue,0 = 5, 000 f t,
and vSue,0 = 0. So the total time for Sue to hit the ground after jumping is TSue = 485.6+3 = 488.6
s. Subtract 20 seconds from this time for the total time Joe falls, TJoe = 488.6 − 20 = 468.6 s.
Now Joe is in free-fall for tJoe,F F seconds and then falls with vchute = −10 ft/s for TJoe − tJoe,F F
seconds. Joe must cover the same distance in 20 fewer seconds than Sue, so we know he must delay
pulling his chute compared to what Sue did. We can now write a similar kinetic equation as we
did for Joe:
1
yJoe,f inal = yJoe,0 + vJoe,0 · tJoe,F F + a · t2Joe,F F + vchute · (TJoe − tJoe,F F ) (4)
2
1
=⇒ 0 = 5, 000 f t + 0 + (−32 f t/s2 )(tJoe,F F )2 + (−10 f t/s)(468.6 − tJoe,F F ). (5)
2

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Rearranging the last expression above into quadratic form, we find two possible solutions for
tJoe,F F : −4.1285, 4.7535. The first solution is not physical, since it corresponds to a time be-
fore Sue jumps. So we see that Joe should open his chute 4.754 seconds after jumping to catch up
with Sue, after which time they fall together.
Here is a plot of Sue and Joe’s fall distance if he deploys his chute earlier, later, or at 4.754
seconds.

Figure 1: We note the 20 second delay. If Joe opens his chute on time he basically falls at the same
position as Sue after roughly 25 seconds and they land together.

Problem 2 Two-Dimensional Kinematics: Escape from Burning Building

Your friend, a world-class long jumper, is trapped on the roof of a burning building. His only escape
route is to jump to the roof of the next building. Fortunately for him, he is in telephone contact
with you, a Physics 2210 student, for advice on how to proceed. He has two options. He can jump
to the next building by using the long-jump technique where he jumps at 45◦ to the horizontal.
Or, he can take his chances by staying where he is in the hopes that the fire department will rescue
him. You learn from the building engineers that the next building is 10 m away horizontally and
the roof is 3 m below the roof of the burning building. You also know that his best long-jump
distance is 7.9 m . What do you advise him to do?

Solution
One Strategy
Use the information on his best long-jump of 7.9 meters to compute his x component of velocity
on a long-jump, vx . Compute the extra flight time it will take him to sail the extra 10 - 7.9 = 2.1
meters to the next roof with a horizontal velocity vx . Then compute the distance he will fall from
the height of the original roof during this extra flight time. If this distance exceeds 3 meters, he
won’t make it to the other rooftop and he’ll fall.

PHYS 2210

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Quantitative Analysis
We begin by computing vx which is the x component of the jumper’s initial velocity. In the long-
jump described here, the initial velocity has equal x and y-components (vx,0 = vy,0 ), since he jumps
at an angle θ = 45◦ . At maximum height, vy = 0, so

0 = vy,0 − gt, (6)

which means t = vy,0 /g. In a normal long jump, the total flight time is 2t and the range covered is:
2
vx,0
2vy,0
∆x = 7.9 m = vx,0 · t = vx,0 =2 (7)
g g
r
7.9 · 9.8
=⇒ vx,0 = = 6.22 m/s. (8)
2
The extra time for the jumper to cover the remaining 2.1 meters is
2.1 m
∆t = = 0.338s. (9)
6.22 m/s
In that time, he will fall an additional distance of:
1
∆y = − g∆t2 − vy ∆t (10)
2
1
= − (9.81 m/s)(0.338 s)2 − (6.22 m/s)(0.338 s) (11)
2
= 2.66 m. (12)

He thus will still have some distance to fall once he has cleared the additional 2.1 meter horizontal
distance.

Problem 3 1D Kinematics: Position, Velocity, and Acceleration

The position vs. time graph below describes the motion of a particle in one dimension. For
each point A through E, characterize both the velocity and the acceleration of the particle. By
“characterize, I mean that for each point, you should describe whether the velocity is zero, forward
(positive), or backward (negative); and whether it’s constant or changing. Then also describe
whether the acceleration is zero, forward, or backward. Explain all your answers! Notice that point
G has a different character compared to the others. Describe what is happening at point G.

PHYS 2210

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Solution
To answer this question, you must use the definitions of velocity, v = dx/dt, and acceleration
a = dv/dt = d2 x/dt2 , which are valid in 1D. We also note that since the graph above plots x vs. t,
the slope of a tangent at a particular point on the graph corresponds to the first derivative there,
and thus the velocity: dx/dt = v. The second derivative is the curvature of the graph, that is how
much the slope is changing in the vicinity of the point of interest: is the graph linear at that point?
Does the slope increase or decrease in the vicinity of the point?
With that, we can now answer the question for each point:

Point A: Positive velocity (1st derivative > 0); no acceleration (no curvature: 2nd derivative =
0). The particle is moving forward at constant velocity.

Point B: Zero velocity (1st derivative = 0); negative (backward) acceleration (2nd derivative <
0). The particle is changing direction from forward to backward.

Point C: Zero velocity and acceleration (both 1st and 2nd derivatives = 0). The particle is at
rest.

Point D: Positive velocity (1st derivative > 0); negative (backward) acceleration (2nd derivative
< 0). The particle is moving forward but slowing down.

Point E: Negative velocity (1st derivative < 0); no acceleration (2nd derivative = 0). The particle
is moving backward at constant velocity.

Point G: Discontinuous change in the velocity from 0 to positive. The particle undergoes infinite
acceleration here. This situation is unphysical: closer inspection of the graph must
yield curvature and thus finite acceleration.

PHYS 2210

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