Fall Definition and 903 Threads

  1. K

    Why doesn't an object fall through the ground when it hits it?

    My college Physics class keeps on increasing my interest for physics, and I'm getting bored of the in class work so I've decided that I want to try to make a physics engine so that I can play around with physics and help myself learn more of it without being confined to just what my professor...
  2. S

    Why do Balloons filled with Air not fall at 9.6m/s/s?

    I've been racking my brain to figure this one out, I really don't understand it. If you fill a balloon with air from your lungs, just manually blow it up, it should be carbon dioxide, no? Density of Carbon Dioxide at Sea Level: 1.977 g/L Density of Air at Sea Level: 1.2 g/L So it's...
  3. F

    Acceleration in free fall: find final velocity and height

    Homework Statement A student drops a ball from the top of a tall building; it takes 2.5 s for the ball to reach the ground. A.What was the ball’s speed just before hitting the ground? B.What is the height of the building? Homework Equations v=V(not) + at x=V(not)t + 1/2at(Squared)...
  4. C

    Problem (possibly) involving Springs, Free Fall and Air Resistance

    Homework Statement A mass m is dropped from a height H onto a hard, flat surface. When it collides with the surface, it rebounds with the same speed it had before the collision. However, there is a constant force of air resistance f acting on the mass as it undergoes this motion. Answer the...
  5. S

    Solving a Simple Free Fall Problem - Time, Velocity, and Distance Calculations

    Homework Statement Two students are on a balcony 23.5 m above the street. One student throws a ball, b1, vertically downward at 14.1 m/s. At the same instant, the other student throws a ball, b2, vertically upward at the same speed. The second ball just misses the balcony on the way down...
  6. R

    Forces to crack a pouch after a fall

    Hi I have a question I need help with. Im trying to find out how much forces that a pouch (balloon) creates on the inside walls when it hits the floor after a fall. A pouch (balloon) with one litre of water falls from 1 meter down to the floor. How much force must the "walls" stand...
  7. W

    Net Force of a Model Rocket in Free Fall

    A model rocket with a mass of 0.50 kg is fired vertically from the ground. Assume that it is streamlined enough that air resistance can be ignored. Suppose it ascends under the influence of a constant net force of 2.0 N acting in a vertical direction and travels for 6.0 s before its fuel is...
  8. daniel_i_l

    Why Does Coriolis Force Deflect Freely Falling Rocks?

    My mechanics book says that if a rock falls freely to Earth from a certain height than it will be deflected slightly to the east due to the Coriolis force. But I don't understand why. Consider the following Wikipedia picture: If we imagine that we're looking at the nothern hemisphere from...
  9. Z

    Programs Fall Semester 2009 of a MATH major

    Hello everyone, So there is only one month left between my glorious summer and the beginning of my fall semester, also the beginning of my intensive mathematics major. This fall I'm planning on taking a total of FIVE advanced math courses in the undergraduate school where I'm at. Besides from...
  10. L

    What classes are you taking for Fall 2009?

    Hi, thought this might be an interesting an kind of fun idea, post your 2009 schedule if your a student currently taking classes, also if you have some questions to ask the physics forums peanut gallery we can put them all in one space. I'll start Classes Linear Algebra- Using professors own...
  11. S

    Calculating the Fall Time of a High Diver from 36 m

    If a high diver plunges from 36m above the water, what is the length of the time interval during which the diver falls through the air? - assume that throughout their dive, the diver is falling vertically from rest with an acceleration of 10\ ms^{-2} I'm not sure how to answer this. I think I'm...
  12. A

    How long will a ball of paper take to fall from a height of 45 meters?

    Alright, so, first of all, I created this problem myself. I made this to study, so I considered it as my homework. 1. How long will a crumpled ball of paper that is 3 inches in diameter take to fall 45 meters IN FREEFALL, knowing that the sheet of paper used to create the ball was 210mm x 297mm...
  13. K

    GE - GMm/R: Does Vacuum Energy Affect Gravitational Fall?

    re: GE = minus GMm/R. It`s said that as R increases M increases to the third power and therefore falling outward is downhill but the increase in M is due to an increase in the vacuum energy which converts to a certain amount of mass. However, the mass of vacuum energy is very small. Could...
  14. S

    Will I be overwhelmed? (16credit hours for fall)

    I am going back to school 6 years after high school. This summer I am taking English 101 and Calc 1. As you would imagine, my skills are rusty. Although summer semester is 7 weeks long, I am doing okay: not too great, but not too bad either. Right now, I am in process of refreshing my math...
  15. M

    How does a body have zero weight in free fall?

    I might sound like an idiot asking this question, but, how does a body have zero weight in free fall??
  16. F

    Schools Starting grad school in the fall.

    Hello all, I'm entering a graduate program in materials science and engineering in the fall, and I was wondering if anyone had any generic or specific advice (or heads up) about grad school based on your experiences. Thank you.
  17. P

    Object Free fall quadratic equation problem

    Homework Statement An object falls from height h from rest. If it travels .50h in the last 1.00 s, find (a) the time and (b) the height of its fall. Explain the physically unacceptable solution of the quadratic equation in t that you obtain. Homework Equations Pretty much any free...
  18. W

    What kills you when you fall down?

    When you fall off a building and then you hit the floor, what actually kills you? I mean what energy or mechanism is acting on your organs and bones and damages them? The sudden change of momentum your body went through? The Kinetic energy you had before the impact? Please try to explain...
  19. J

    Rocket trajectory in vertical launch then free fall

    Homework Statement A rocket is launched to travel vertically upward with a constant velocity of say...20 m/s.After travelling maybe 35 s the rocket develops snag and its fuel supply is cut off. the rocket then travels like a free body, the height achieved by the rocket will be...
  20. S

    WEIGHT and ACCELERATION as you FALL and CLIMB UP

    1. An airplane flying horizontally encounters a low pressure and drops, and you feel lighter. If your apparent weight during that time is 60% of your true weight, what is the acceleration of fall of the plane? If the plane now climbs back with an acceleration equal and opposite to the...
  21. F

    Schedule for Fall Quarter - Linear Algebra or Fundamentals of Math?

    I'm having a hard time trying to figure out if Linear Algebra or the Foundations of Higher Mathematics would be best to take for fall quarter. I briefly thought about just taking both, but I'm not sure if I could handle it. Originally I was thinking about take linear algebra, but a friend...
  22. S

    Gravity question: Why do things fall?

    I understand that mass warps spacetime, and am well familiar with the bowling ball/rubber sheet analogy, but that to me is a depiction without explanation of the process. It doesn't explain for me what actually causes an object, Newton's apple for example, to accelerate toward another mass, in...
  23. C

    How far can a 55kg person fall and break and leg?

    Hi, having a problem with this question. I thought it was as simple as the conservation of energy, but I guess there is something I'm missing. The program we're using isn't accepting my answer, even when I use two significant digits. Thanks for the help, Cohort Homework Statement From...
  24. F

    Why a spinning top won't fall to the ground?

    Why a spinning top won't fall to the ground? yes I know this question must have been asked before right? tried looking for it on here but I couldn't find it.
  25. T

    Why doesn't the electron fall into the nucleus?

    why doesn't the electron fall into the nucleus!? yes I know this question must have been asked before right? tried looking for it on here but I couldn't find it. the only answer I have gotten to this was just that particles are quantized... yes yes, fine... but WHY? for instance, why does an...
  26. A

    Finding time taken to fall off table

    Homework Statement A uniform chain of length L lies on a smooth table with part of its length b initially hanging over the edge. Show that the time required for it to fall off the table when released from rest is given by t = √(L/g) arccosh (L/b) Homework Equations...
  27. D

    Force & Free Fall Projectile Homework Help

    Homework Statement 1)A 3.0kg chair at rest is pulled across the floor by a 20N force.If the co-efficient of friction between the floor and chair is 0.25, calculate: a)the net force on the chair. answer=13N b)the displacement of the chair after 2.0sm answer=8.4m...
  28. T

    Why do molecules not fall apart under observation?

    Hello I was just revising for my Quantum Mechanics A exam and was considering the 1D double well model of an H2+ molecule. As I understand it Psi2 is non zero between the wells and therefore there is some negative charge present to which the H+ nuclei are attracted resulting in a covalent...
  29. O

    Why Does Light Appear to Fall in a Gravitational Field?

    Light does gravitate --- there is plenty of sound evidence for this, such as gravitational lensing in astronomy. Gravity makes space refract, it seems. What theoretical explanation can be offered for this observation? The equivalence principle is often used, but invoking a principle smacks...
  30. B

    Free-Fall Homework: Find Velocity of Dropped First-Aid Kit

    Homework Statement A small first-aid kit is dropped by a rock climber who is descending steadily at 1.2 m/s. a) After 4.2 s, what is the velocity of the first-aid kit? Answer in units of m/s. Ok i know that the velocity after the 4.2 sec is -42.36 however the question asks how far is the...
  31. D

    How can you calculate the value of 'g' without fancy equipment?

    Homework Statement Determine the value of 'g' Homework Equations AnythingThe Attempt at a Solution I only know of the pendulum method. Can someone please show me of other methods to calculate g without the use of fancy equipment such as a picoscope.
  32. T

    Solve ODE for Free Fall with Drag: Find v(t)

    Homework Statement Need to solve the differential equation which models the velocity of a sky diver. Homework Equations dv/dt = -9.8 + 0.0045Av^2 where A is cross sectional area (assume 0.75m^2) v(0) = 0 The Attempt at a Solution ok the problem is to find v(t) as a function time. as...
  33. S

    What is the height of the ledge from which the flowerpot fell?

    Having trouble with the equation to solve the problem. A flowerpot falls from the ledge of an apartment building. A person in an apartment below, coincidentally in possession of a high-precision timing system, notices that it takes 0.20 seconds for the pot to fall past his 4.0 m high window...
  34. V

    How Far Does the Camera Fall Before the Skydiver Catches It?

    Hey guys need help beginning to solve the following: A skydiver accidentally drops a camera out of the plane. The diver notices the mistake 3.0s later and dives out of the plane with a downward velocity of 10.0 m/s. The camera experiences free fall(9.8 m/s^2), but the sky diver accelerates...
  35. S

    Free fall with horizontal velocity

    Homework Statement An airplane releases a spacecraft , after 2 seconds the spacecraft s engine starts providing it with a horizontal velocity of 6m/s relative to the aircraft. What is the magnitude and direction of the velocity after 2 seconds? After 3? Assume the spacecraft is in...
  36. P

    Solving Non-Linear Differential Equations for Free Fall Due to Gravity

    Homework Statement I was given a problem to solve for the speed of a body falling under gravity [equation (1)] where g is acceleration due to gravity, which was easy enough.. but then i thought i would extend it to the case where g is non-constant, and so arrived at equation (2), (where where...
  37. P

    Clouds are water liquid, not vapour, why it don't fall down?

    Title says all, why clouds are up? have the air more density than water? Thanks!
  38. D

    Fall with Air Drag - Which Value for Velocity to Use?

    Homework Statement I want to numerically simulate a fall with air drag. In class, we used these equations to produce a table simulating free fall (using a ti calculator): dt=0.1s a=9.81m/s² tn+1=tn+dt vn+1=vn+a*dt xn+1=xn+vn*dt When I compared that system with the curve produced by the...
  39. M

    How fast did the rock strike the ground?

    Homework Statement A rock thrown straight up climbs for 2.50 s, then falls to the ground. Neglecting air resistance, with what velocity did the rock strike the ground? Homework Equations well we are looking for v=? we have: t=2.50 s and g=9.8 ^do we need gravity? yes, right? =S...
  40. L

    Electrons and positrons free fall within a superconducting cylinder

    I read about electrons and positrons free fall within a superconducting cylinder, in this book (p 105): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521675537/?tag=pfamazon01-20 I don't understand what I read. Apparently, electrons would feel an electric field mg/e that would actually freeze them in the...
  41. J

    Calculating Rod's Speed After Free Fall

    Homework Statement From the GRE 0177 practice exam: A thin uniform rod of mass M and length L is positioned vertically above an anchored frictionless pivot point, as shown above, and then allowed to fall to the ground. With what speed does the free end of the rod strike the ground? The...
  42. U

    Do Balls Thrown Up and Dropped Down Meet Above the Halfway Point of a Building?

    Homework Statement A ball is dropped from rest from the top of a building and strikes the ground with a speed vf. From ground level, a second ball is thrown straight upward at the same instant that the first ball is dropped. The initial speed of the second ball is v0 = vf, the same speed...
  43. J

    Particle Falling g=1m/s^2 how much time does it take to fall?

    Homework Statement A particle falls freely through a distance of 1.00 m starting from rest. Assume resume that g = 10 m/s^2. How much time does it take to fall? (4E-1) Homework Equations I think a=vf-vi/t The Attempt at a Solution I've tried 10m/s^2=1/10m/s-0/t And tried to...
  44. X

    How Much Force Does a Falling Boy Exert on a Net?

    Hello Homework Statement I have this problem, even though it might seem very simple. A boy falls from a distance and lands on a net. When he reaches the net, it de-accelerates him with 4*g. The question is: What amount force does the boy exert the net? The Attempt at a Solution I would say...
  45. H

    Need help with the sign of g in free fall acceleration

    Homework Statement Heather and Jerry are standing on a bridge 50\;m above a river. Heather throws a rock straight down with a speed of 20\;m/s. Jerry, at exactly the same instant of time, throws a rock straight up with the same speed. Ignore air resistance. How much time elapses between the...
  46. J

    Do Objects with Different Masses Fall at the Same Rate in Air?

    I've tried finding this in the forums elsewhere, but can't seem to find the answer I'm looking for. So here's my dilemma... There are two objects, object X and object Z, that are the same volume and shape. However, object X has a greater mass than object Z. Objects X and Z are both dropped...
  47. A

    Free Fall: Does an Object Reach Speed of Light?

    In free fall, there is no air resistance, so the only force acting upon the object of free fall would only be its weight. Now the question is, if an object keeps accelerating due to free fall, wouldn't it eventually reach the speed of light? For example, Earth's g=9.81 m/s^2, so over a course...
  48. J

    Free fall: total distance expressed in terms of distance fallen in nth second

    Homework Statement A body falls vertically from rest. During the nth second it falls a distance d. Prove that by the end of the nth second it has fallen a total distance (D) of (2d+g)^2/8g Homework Equations x = x0 + V0 + 1/2at^2 where x0 = initial position v0 = initial velocity a...
  49. JasonJo

    Admissions Fall 2009 Graduate Admissions Thread

    This is a thread for all us nervous Fall 2009 grad applicants. All my applications are in and all my letters of recommendation were sent in. I don't want to post any stats or profile data until I get my admissions decisions in. Where did you guys apply? What field do you want to pursue...
  50. L

    How High and How Long Will the Apple Travel?

    Homework Statement maria throws an apple vertically upward from a height of 1.3 meters with an initial velocity of 2.4 m/s. A) will the apple reach a friend in a treehouse 5.3 m above ground B)how long will the apple be in the air before it hits the the ground Homework Equations...
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