Calculating Escape Height for a Fish Evading a Diving Pelican

  • Thread starter Thread starter Petrikovski
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Bird Kinematics
AI Thread Summary
To determine the minimum height at which a fish must spot a diving pelican to evade capture, one must consider the pelican's dive from 16 meters and the 0.2 seconds it takes for the fish to react. The discussion highlights the need to calculate the time it takes for the pelican to reach the water after being spotted by the fish. Additionally, similar physics problems involving projectile motion and deceleration from a fall are explored, emphasizing the use of quadratic equations to find multiple time solutions. The conversation also touches on the effects of net tension on deceleration during a fall. Understanding these principles is crucial for solving the escape height problem effectively.
Petrikovski
Pelicans tuck their wings and free-fall straight down when diving for fish. Suppose a pelican starts its dive from a height of 16 m and cannot change its path once committed. If it takes a fish .20 s to perform evasice action, at what minimum height must it spot the pelican to escape? Assume the fish is at the surface of the water.

i just can't figure it out >_> please help
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The pelican fall from a height H, say. When it is at a height h, it is spotted by the fish. 0.2s later, the pelican strikes the water, and the fish.

Very similar to this problem here, but with a change in unknowns.
 
i solved that one but i have another 2 problems :|

A stone is thrown vertically upward with a speed of 22 m/s. (a) How fast is it moving when it reaches a heihgt of 15 m? (b) How long is required to reach this height? (c) Why are there two answers to b?

for (a), using X = 15, Xsub0 = 0, Vsub0 = 22, and a = -9.8 i got 13.78 m/s. For b i got .84 seconds. Those are both right but, for (b), there's a second answer becausre the ball comes back down past 15 M. but i can't figure out how to get it. The answer is 3.65 seconds but idk how to get it. any help? this ones really puzzling me

A person jumps from a fourth-story window 15 m above a firefighters safety net. The survivor stretches the net 1 m before coming to rest. (a) What was the average deceleration experienced by the survivor when slowed by the net? (b) Would tightening the net or loosening it increase the deceleration?

please help :o
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Petrikovski said:
...

for (b), there's a second answer becausre the ball comes back down past 15 M. but i can't figure out how to get it.

...
Should should have a quadratic in t when solving for time for the particle to be at a height of 15m

x_f = x_0 +v_0*t - \frac{1}{2}gt^2

That'll give you both answers.
 
Fermat said:
Should should have a quadratic in t when solving for time for the particle to be at a height of 15m

x_f = x_0 +v_0*t - \frac{1}{2}gt^2

That'll give you both answers.
ok i got it but still need help with other one

A person jumps from a fourth-story window 15 m above a firefighters safety net. The survivor stretches the net 1 m before coming to rest. (a) What was the average deceleration experienced by the survivor when slowed by the net? (b) Would tightening the net or loosening it increase the deceleration?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The person falls for 15m under gravity.
What is his velocity at this point.
He then travels 1m before coming to a stop - he has final velocity = 0
That's all you need to apply one of the eqns of motion - vf, vi, accln and distance travelled.
For (b), would you rather jump into a taut net or a flaccid net ??
 
I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
Thread 'Collision of a bullet on a rod-string system: query'
In this question, I have a question. I am NOT trying to solve it, but it is just a conceptual question. Consider the point on the rod, which connects the string and the rod. My question: just before and after the collision, is ANGULAR momentum CONSERVED about this point? Lets call the point which connects the string and rod as P. Why am I asking this? : it is clear from the scenario that the point of concern, which connects the string and the rod, moves in a circular path due to the string...
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'
Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
Back
Top