Max Height of Rocket in Free Fall: Solving for a, t1, and g

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving a rocket that accelerates upward with a constant net acceleration until its fuel is exhausted. Participants are tasked with finding the maximum height the rocket reaches, expressed in terms of acceleration, time, and gravitational acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the interpretation of 'net acceleration' and its implications for calculating maximum height. There are attempts to apply different values for acceleration and to understand the formula used for height calculation.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided guidance on the formula for maximum height, while others are exploring different numerical values and checking their calculations. There is an indication of a potential misunderstanding regarding the application of net acceleration.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the assumption that air resistance is negligible and are focusing on the relationship between acceleration, time, and gravitational force. There is mention of significant figures affecting the final numerical result.

reesejm
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I was given the situation, A rocket, initially at rest on the ground, accelerates straight upward from rest with constant net acceleration a , until time t1, when the fuel is exhausted.

Find the maximum height H that the rocket reaches (neglecting air resistance).
Express the maximum height in terms of a, t1, and/or g . Note that in this problem, g is a positive number equal to the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity.

I found the equation to be (1/2)a((t_1)^2)*(1+(a/g)) This formulaa is correct. I am having trouble finding the max. height that the rocket will reach. height when the net acceleration is a=3g for t1=5.00s and use g=9.81m/s^2. I tried plugging in a=3g into the equation and got and incorrect answer so i tried 2g, taking g away from the aceleration because of gravity downword and as well got it wrong. I am not sure what i am doing wrong
 
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reesejm said:
I was given the situation, A rocket, initially at rest on the ground, accelerates straight upward from rest with constant net acceleration a , until time t1, when the fuel is exhausted.

Find the maximum height H that the rocket reaches (neglecting air resistance).

Hmm, you appear not to understand what 'net acceleration' means. The 'net acceleration' is the total acceleration you don't need to manipulate it any. Ergo, the height the rocket reaches is going to be:
[tex]\frac{1}{2}at_1^2[/tex]
 
with a=3g, i plugged the numbers into [tex]\frac{1}{2}at_1^2[/tex] and got 367.9m. It said that i was off by a single numerical factor
 
Well, unless you give the numbers, I can't check your math. You might want to check if it's looking for 368 m (because 9.81 has only 3 sig figs...)
 

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