Calculating the Distance for Dropping Water Balloons on Students Entering a Dorm

[torresmido]

Homework Statement

You and your Physics major rommate become involved in a sinister plot to drop water ballons on students entering your dorm. Your room is 64ft above sidewalk. You plan to place an X to the place on the sidewalk to mark the spot a student must be when the balloon is dropped. The student will walk the distance from the X to the place the balloon hits in the time the balloon falls. After observing several students, you conclude most students walt at about 2 m/s when coming into the dorm. How far from the impact point do you place the X?

Any suggestions are highly welcomed

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

 

[AFG34]

make 2 equations modelling the balloon's movement and the student's, then just set them equal to each other.

or

calculate the time it takes for the balloon to hit the ground from the moment you let go of it, then...

 

[PowerIso]

Well, i'll give you a general idea, but it would be favorable for you to show an attempt at the problem after this.

You can calculate what t is going to be because you know the height, the acceleration and the initial velocity. From all that you should be able to find how long it takes the balloon to hit the ground.

Once you know time, you can see how far a person can walk during that time. I think you can assume there is no acceleration, and you know the time and their velocity so from there it should be ezpz.