What is Height: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is).
For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is about 10,000 m".
When the term is used to describe vertical position (of, e.g., an airplane) from sea level, height is more often called altitude.
Furthermore, if the point is attached to the Earth (e.g., a mountain peak), then altitude (height above sea level) is called elevation.In a two-dimensional Cartesian space, height is measured along the vertical axis (y) between a specific point and another that does not have the same y-value. If both points happen to have the same y-value, then their relative height is zero. In three-dimensional space, height is measured along the vertical z axis, describing a distance from (or "above") the x-y plane.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. D

    How to calculate the height of a parabola, given base width and arc length?

    I have a parabola centered at x=0, equation: y = a*x^2 + c, where a is always negative and c always positive. I need to find a way to calculate a and c, if i know: the arc length above the x axis, and the base width, knowing the base width i also know the x-axis intersections x1,2 =...
  2. B

    Throwing objects in the air and calculating height problem

    Hey folks I'm having some trouble with this question in my homework: Homework Statement A man at the top of a building throws an object straight up at a speed of 10 m/s. The object hits the ground 5 seconds latter. For the purpose of this problem the assumed environment is a vaccum. a)...
  3. M

    Projectile: know only launch velocity, max height, and distance

    Suppose you know only these three things about a launched projectile: - Initial launch velocity (magnitude only, not direction) - Maximum height reached - Horizontal distance traveled before hitting the ground Is it possible to find the initial height, launch angle, and airtime of this...
  4. G

    Resolving max height with calculus

    Homework Statement A ball is thrown at 32m/s vertically what is the max height the ball can attain. Homework Equations no equation is given except initial speed The Attempt at a Solution so my guess is since the gravity is 9.8m/s^2 if I integrate 9.8m/s^2 = 32 it gives me 2.1396...
  5. M

    Solving Projectile w/ Initial Height, Height Max, Horiz Dist.

    Hi everyone, I'm trying to design a formula that determines the launch velocity, launch angle, and time spent in the air for a projectile if only the initial launch height, maximum height reached, and total horizontal distance traveled before the projectile hits the ground are known. It's not...
  6. N

    Finding the height above a window after an object passes it

    Homework Statement A roof tile falls from rest from the top of a building. An observer inside the building notices that it takes .20s for the tile to pass her window, whose height is 1.6m. How far above the top of the window is the roof? Homework Equations just having trouble...
  7. C

    Real Height versus Perceived Height, of Objects at a Distance.

    This thought came from staring at telephone poles and light posts along roads and walkways. I noticed that these objects all had the same height more or less and were regularly spaced. The poles and appeared to reduced in height (following some mathematical relationship) as the distance between...
  8. M

    Change in water height of a wave pool

    A 2.00 m deep swimming pool is equipped with a wave generator that sends sinusoidal waves across the pool. The equation which gives the water depth, h(x,t), some distance x from the wave generator at any time t is: h(x,t) = 2.00 m + H cos[ 2π [ t/(4.900 s) − x/(0.4000 m) ] − 5π/4 ] where H =...
  9. E

    Proof that the area under the curve dh/dt against t = height

    Hi, I have conducted an experiment to calculate the rate of change of water as it passes through 1cm levels (10 down to 0) across a uniform cross section of a juice bottle (rectangular prism shaped). I was wondering how I could verify/prove that the area under the curve is equal to the initial...
  10. T

    Actual height of Fresnel forbidden zone - distance between line and elipse

    Hi I'm new here so I don't know if I posted in right place but here is the problem. I don't know if you are familiar with antenna theory but I need to calculate radius of 1. Fresnel ellipsoid. It's easy when two antennas are on same altitude but if they aren't there is a problem. If you...
  11. O

    Trajectories of objects thrown from a height

    Hello, I am new to this forum. I am having trouble with conceptualizing trajectories of objects. Here is a specific question that I can figure out: If a car is traveling down the hill with an incline and an object is thrown out of the car, what is the trajectory of the object? Would the...
  12. O

    Calculating the Height of a Flagpole Using Trigonometry

    Having a fair bit of trouble with this one. Based on the answer I had thought to apply the Sine Rule but adding points to describe the lengths of elevation seems wrong, but I'm stuck on how else to approach this. Can anyone help, please? Many thanks. Homework Statement Q. A vertical...
  13. R

    Finding jumping height on an unknown planet given Mass/Radius

    Homework Statement Knowing you can jump about 1m high on Earth's surface, how high can you jump on the unknown planet. Munknown= 4.19*10^21kg Radius Unknown= 1*10^6m Homework Equations Not sure if can be used in this question K1+U1 = K2 + U2 1/2MV2 + mgh = 1/2MV2 + mgh U=-GM/r and U = mgh...
  14. 7

    Formula to find height required to reach x speed in freefall

    Acceleration (a or 9.8 for simplicity); initial velocity (vf); distance (d); Initial velocity (vi) trying to find a formula to answer "how far would you have to fall to reach x speed" where x is input from user. Is it possible to answer this using two steps, first find time then find...
  15. H

    From what height will two objects hit the ground at the same speed?

    Homework Statement There are 2 objects both with mass 0.50 kg which are dropped from rest at height h. One is dropped on Earth and experiences air resistance and one is dropped on moon and experiences no air resistance. The gravitational acceleration on Earth is 9.8 and on moon it is 1.6...
  16. T

    How to Calculate Impact Height for 40 g's Acceleration

    Hi everyone, This may seem like a simple problem but it seems to be escaping me. Say I have an object of a given mass, m, and I want it to impact the Earth at an acceleration of 40 g's. What height, h, must I drop the object at? Again, I feel like I'm just missing a step so please let...
  17. C

    Find The Height Of The Mountain

    Homework Statement A simple measuring device is used at point X and Y on the same horizontal level to measure the angles of elevation of the peak P of a certain mountain. If X is known to be 5,200m above sea level, |XY| = 4,000m and the measurement of the angles of elevation of P at X and Y...
  18. M

    Writing Volume as a Function of Height for an Open Box

    Homework Statement An open box of maximum volume is to be made from a square piece of material 24 centimeters on a side (24-2x) by cutting equal squares from the corners and turning up the sides. The table shows the volumes V (in cubic centimeters) of the box for various heights, x (in...
  19. T

    Height And Width of Reflected Pulses (through less dense medium) ?

    Homework Statement Consider the waveform shown below heading towards a boundary between two strings. Let string 1 have mass per unit length of µ1 = 0.05 kg/m and let string 2 have a mass per unit length µ2 = 0.02 kg/m. Let the tension in both strings be T = 100N. --> ____/\____ _ _...
  20. S

    Height of an different objects along a curved incline

    Homework Statement the five objects of various masses, each denoted m, all have the same radius. They are all rolling at the same speed as they approach a curved incline. Solid sphere - m = 1.0 kg Hollow Sphere - m = 0.2 kg Solid Cylinder - m = 0.2 kg Solid Disk - m = 0.5 kg Hoop - m = 0.2 kg...
  21. G

    Understanding Metacentric Height for Ship Stability

    hi i am on to understand when ships are in a stable position. now i found that this is directly linked to a quantity called the metacentric height? there are two major forces, the gravitational and the buoyant force. and in classical mechanics when i wanted to find out the torque that...
  22. Philosophaie

    Air Density vs Height above Earth

    What is the density of Air vs Height above Earth? Air Density is 0.001275 g/cm^3 at sea level. I would like to see a graph or a table with the air density vs km above sea level.
  23. P

    Time Dilation and Muon Energy vs. height (Muon Experiment)

    Hey guys The lab manual for the class is found here http://advancedlab.physics.gatech.edu/labs/Muons/Muons.pdf One of the things, I was interested in figuring out was what would be the minimum height needed to put a moun detector (currently at ground level) in order to detect a minimum 1%...
  24. J

    Real height and apparent height

    Homework Statement if the line of sight,object,image are collinear,we can apply the equation d/D = n(medium containing observer) / n(medium containing object) Where d = distance between image and boundary(apparent height/depth) D = distance between object and boundary.(real height/depth)...
  25. D

    Universal gravitation 1-determine height of satellite

    Homework Statement Two satellites are orbiting around the Earth. One satellite has a period of 1.5 h and is 250 km above the Earth's surface. The second satellite has a period of 7.5 h. Using Kepler's Laws and the fact that the Earth's radius is 6.38x106 m determine the height of the second...
  26. S

    Max Height of Object: Proving Maximum Ordinate with Calculus

    I am a formal instructor and one of the classes I teach revolves around the ballistics of a bullet. I am currently in a Calculus class and will be starting as an Economics major In the fall when I finish my time in the Marines. I am hoping to see if there is any way, through a formula that I...
  27. S

    Calculating Max Height & Time of Rifle Trajectory at 300 Yards

    I am a formal instructor and one of the classes I teach revolves around the ballistics of a bullet. I am currently in a Calculus class and will be starting as an Economics major In the fall when I finish my time in the Marines. I am hoping to see if there is any way, through calculus that...
  28. M

    Vertical SHM. Find f with A and drop height

    Homework Statement A spring is standing upright on a table with its bottom end fastened to the table. A block is dropped from a height of 3.0cm above the top of the spring. The block sticks to the top end of the spring and then oscillates with an amplitude of 10cm. What is the oscillation...
  29. A

    Max height at the top of the ramp of object launched by spring

    Homework Statement Ok so I had this problem on my quiz today and I am really anxious to see if i got it right. It went something like this: You have a frictionless horizontal platform and a ramp with kinetic friction of 0.3. The ramp is 20 degree of the ground. A 2 kg block/object is...
  30. L

    How to calculate the height submerged of cylinder

    A hollow cylinder (but not open ended) is allowed to float on a liquid. Can anyone please help me how to calculate the height (h) it submerge? I want to get a relationship between height and cylinder weight. I can calculate the volume of submerged part. But no idea how to derive a formula with...
  31. R

    Help with height of image in a mirror

    An object which is 0.54m tall is located 1.23m in front of a plane mirror. How tall is the image as seen in the mirror? I know that the image seems to be 1.23m from the surface of the mirror and that the object seems to be 2.460m from the image. What equation do I need to use to figure...
  32. S

    Find radius of bowl at certain height

    Homework Statement A bowl has radius of 16 cm at the top of it (the largest diameter) and diameter of 8 cm at the bottom of it (the smallest diameter). Find the diameter at position: a. 1/4 height b. 1/2 height c. 3/4 height Homework Equations not sure, maybe: trigonometry...
  33. C

    Factoring known drag into finding height of projectile

    Alright, I am trying to work out some equations on a project to determine if fictional instances of physics are possible or not. In my case, I am seeing how a person travels if they are thrown from a jet that is traveling vertically (don't ask). I have completed the equations to solve how far...
  34. S

    Maximum height reached by a projectile

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33103477/gravity.png I have worked out the first two bits. (So you can assume that I have that) But I can't figure out how to work out the maximum height reached. I know there I can equal the KE and the PE to work out max height, but that doesn't look like it'll...
  35. S

    Finding the initial height of a roller-coaster [HELP]

    Homework Statement Homework Equations PE = mgh KE = \frac{1}{2}mv^{2} W = ΔKE W = Fd The Attempt at a Solution g = 9.80m/s^{2} hi = ? hf = 20.0m PEi + KEi = PEf + KEf mghi = mghf Would you then cancel the masses out? If you did, the initial height would be 20.0m...
  36. Z

    How much force did a dropped can of beer exert on my foot from 3.5 feet?

    OK so my thread got deleted cos moderator thought it was homework! So can any of you guys help?? I dropped a 500ml unopened can of beer on my foot yesterday from a height of about 3.5feet. Does anyone know what weight it would have been? Apart from a sore bruised foot I also have pain on...
  37. L

    Calculating Time Until Balls Reach Same Height

    1. A ball is dropped from a height of 79 m. Simultaneously a ball is thrown upward from the ground at a velocity of 28 m/s. How much time passes until the balls are at the same height. I'm not really sure what equation to use or how to approach.
  38. DryRun

    Find eqn of cylinder of height

    Homework Statement How to find the equation of cylinder: x^2+y^2=4 from z=0 to z=2? Homework Equations (x-a)^2+(y-b)^2=r^2 The Attempt at a Solution I can't figure out how to implement the z-coordinate into the general equation of cylinder. In the latter, the height is taken as infinite in...
  39. M

    Triangle plane surface 2m base and 3 height

    Hello .. This is a question with answer , From where " 1 " in the solution ? http://store1.up-00.com/Mar12/yd170715.jpg
  40. D

    Finding initial velocity given max height and distance only

    Homework Statement A golfer hits a ball, giving it a maximum height of 20 m. If the ball lands 130 m away at the level from which he hit it, what was its initial velocity? (Neglect air resistance) Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I found the angle to be 31.6, so I...
  41. B

    How to rearrange to find the height of a hollow beam

    Homework Statement i had a solid rectangular beam of max stress equalling 1.65x10^6N/m² a new beam, a hollow rectangular beam is made to reduce weight, it has the same maximum bending stress 1.65x10^6N/m² but this time has a horizontal dimension of 0.2m and a constant wall thickness of 0.02...
  42. D

    Find the range of the golfball and the maximum height reached

    Homework Statement A golf ball is hit with a velocity of 22.8m/s at an angle of 40.0° with respect to the horizontal. a) Find the range of the golf ball. b) Find the maximum height reached by the golf ball. Homework Equations dv=1/2*at2 dh=Vh*Δt Kinetic equation d=Vi*t+ 1/2*at2...
  43. D

    Height of pier above water- projectile motion

    Homework Statement A swimmer moving at 1.80m/s, dives off a pier and hits the water 0.80m from the edge of the pier. How high is the pier above the water? Homework Equations dv=1/2*at2 dh=Vh*Δt a=9.8 The Attempt at a Solution dh=0.80m Vh=1.80m/s dv=? t=? First started...
  44. S

    Solving Manometer Height: Oil & Water

    Homework Statement Consider a manometer with a glass bulb (Pgas=88kPa) at one end and which is open to the atmosphere (P =101 kPa) at the other. The manometer has two liquids oil and water in it, as shown. If the oil has a density of 823 kg/m3 and water a density of 1.00x10^3 kg/m3 find the...
  45. L

    Heating water by dropping it from a high height.

    I was reading through my notes and this idea popped into my head: If you had to drop a liter of water from a certain height, could that potential energy before it's dropped be used to heat the water when it hits the ground? Like you got this equation ΔE = C ΔT Could one use that value of...
  46. S

    Calculate the speed of a projectile from the angle and maximum height.

    The problem goes like this. A water fountain sprays water at a 50 degree angle from the horizontal. The top of the arc is .15m high. What is the horizontal speed of the water? Using SOHCAHTOA, I have managed to find the distance the water flies, and the angles of the triangle the 50 degree...
  47. B

    Why is gravitational potential energy relative to the height you set?

    Why is gravitational potential energy relative to the height you set? When I say relative, I don't mean anything having to do with relativity. Obviously as you go further from the earth, you have more potential energy but in the equation Ug=mgh if you set the height to 0 there is no potential...
  48. U

    Rainfall drop velocity from a given height (not terminal)

    hi everybody, I posted this in an engineering forum but I think it's more relevant here, because it's really just a question of fluid and Newtonian mechanics. I'm working on a project where I'm trying to measure raindrop parameters, and one thing I'm looking at is the sub-terminal speed...
  49. U

    Predicting raindrop speed from a given height

    hi everybody, so I'm working on a project where I'm trying to measure raindrop parameters, and one thing I'm looking at is the sub-terminal speed of drops released from a certain height. The equation that I'm using is from http://staff.science.uva.nl/~jboxel/Publications/PDFs/Gent_98.pdf...
  50. L

    Faster the object from a certain height?

    I'm just wondering for instance, if a ball was dropped from a height of 100m, would it have a larger velocity/ go faster than a ball that was dropped from a height of 1m? Also acceleration would stay the same because of gravity. Yes or No? Thanks :) !
Back
Top