Average speed that you observe for the button as it falls

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves analyzing the average speed of a button dropped from a height of 1.2m while a person moves on a conveyor belt at a constant speed of 0.60m/s. The context is related to kinematics, specifically the motion of falling objects and horizontal movement.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply kinematic equations to find the average speed but questions their result when it does not match an expected value. Some participants question the consideration of vertical movement and its relationship to the overall motion.

Discussion Status

The discussion is exploring the relationship between horizontal and vertical motion, with participants raising questions about the dimensionality of the problem and the appropriate approach to calculate average speed. There is no explicit consensus on the method to be used.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating assumptions about the dimensions involved in the problem, particularly regarding the vertical drop and its interaction with horizontal movement. The original poster expresses confusion over the expected answer versus their calculation.

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You are at an airport watching people go by on a "people mover" conveyer belt that moves at a constant speed of 0.60m/s. As a person goes by, they drop a button from a height of 1.2m. What is the average speed that you observe for the button as it falls to the ground?

well i have:
x=1.2m
v=0.60 m/s
a = 0

so i'll use this formula:

V^2=v(0)^2 +2a(x-x(0))

well a is 0 so the right side cancels to zero.

and v(0) = 0.60

so that means the answer is 0.60m/s, but it's incorrectly. the answer should be 2.5m/s. can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong?
 
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Where's the movement in the y direction?
 
that's the whole question. what do you mean by in the y direction? isn't this just a 1-D problem?
 
[tex]v_{avg} = \frac {\int _0 ^T [v_x^2(t) + v_y^2(t)]^{1/2}dt }{T}[/tex]
 

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