How Fast and at What Angle Must a Hawk Dive to Recapture Its Prey?

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AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the diving speed and angle of a hawk recapturing a mouse after a free fall. The hawk, initially flying at 14.0 m/s and 250 m above ground, dives to recapture the mouse at 3.00 m above the ground. The participant successfully calculated the diving speed as approximately 50.03 m/s and the time of the dive as about 5.1 seconds. However, they are struggling to determine the correct angle of descent, having attempted to use trigonometric methods without success. The conversation highlights the need for clarity in applying physics equations to solve for the angle of the hawk's dive.
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Homework Statement



A hawk is flying horizontally at 14.0 m/s in a straight line, 250 m above the ground. A mouse it has been carrying struggles free from its grasp. The hawk continues on its path at the same speed for 2.00 s before attempting to retrieve its prey. To accomplish the retrieval, it dives in a straight line at constant speed and recaptures the mouse 3.00 m above the ground.

(a) Assuming no air resistance, find the diving speed of the hawk.
m/s
(b) What angle did the hawk make with the horizontal during its descent?
° (below the horizontal)
(c) For how long did the mouse "enjoy" free fall?
s


Homework Equations



h=(.5)gt^2
vf=vi+at

xf=vxi*t

The Attempt at a Solution



for (a) I used h=(.5)gt^2 and solved for t. t=7.09987 s
I then plugged t into vf=vi+at to get a final v of 83.6497m/s diving speed for the hawk. Does this look right?

For (b) I'm lost on where to start. I drew a triangle and have a y height of 247. I also have a 90 degree angle. I don't know however how to solve for the angle.

For (c) I was going to use xf=vxi*t. Knowing my xf already and initial velocity once I figure out the angle from part (b).

Please help. I'm so lost.
 
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So I figured out part a and part c but I'm struggling with art b. A is 50.0297 m/s and the time the hawk dove was 5.09987 s. I multiplied these two and got my hyp. I also know my y length. I drew a triangle and thought I calculated theta but my answer is wrong.
 
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