Newton's Laws of Motion on an airplane

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves an airplane experiencing a downdraft, where the upward acceleration of pretzels is noted. The context is Newton's Laws of Motion, particularly focusing on forces and accelerations acting on the airplane.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationship between the airplane's acceleration and the observed upward acceleration of the pretzels, questioning the significance of the pretzels' behavior in understanding the forces at play.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing exploration of how the airplane's acceleration relates to gravitational acceleration, with some participants suggesting that the airplane's acceleration is greater than gravity. The conversation reflects differing interpretations of the problem's setup.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the gravitational acceleration value as either 9.8 or 9.81 m/s², indicating a potential assumption about standard gravitational conditions. The original poster expresses confusion about the relevance of the pretzels' acceleration in the context of the problem.

torresmido
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Homework Statement


Your airplane is caught in a brief, violent downdraft. To your amazement, the pretzels on your seatback tray rise vertivally, and you estimate their upward acceleration relative to the plane at 2 m/s^2. What's the donward acceleration of the plane?

ANy suggestions are highly aprreciated!

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



what I know is that if the plane is in such a situation it's subject to the gravitational force only, but why we're given this pretzels acceleration?
 
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Stated another way, the plane is heading downward so quickly that it has a greater acceleration than gravity by 2 m/s^2. If that is true, what is the downward acceleration of the plane?

It should give you gravity as either 9.8 or 9.81 m/s^2.
 
so the plane's acceleration is 11.8 m/s^2 downward. We should sum the gravitation acceleration and the pretzels.
 
Exactly.
 

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