Parachutist jumping from plane Conservation of Energy

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a parachutist who jumps from an airplane, focusing on the conservation of energy principles to analyze the change in internal energy from the moment of the jump to just before landing. The subject area includes concepts of potential energy, kinetic energy, and energy conservation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Conceptual clarification

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relevance of the airplane's speed at the moment of the jump, with some questioning whether the initial velocity should be considered as zero or if it should include the horizontal speed of the airplane. There is also a consideration of how to factor in air resistance in the calculations.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different interpretations of the initial conditions and the role of horizontal speed in energy calculations. Some guidance has been offered regarding the conversion of units and the importance of initial speed.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating assumptions about the direction of the airplane's motion and its impact on the energy calculations. There is an emphasis on understanding the initial conditions and their implications for the conservation of energy approach.

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Homework Statement



A parachutist with mass m = 70 kg jumps from an airplane traveling at a speed v = 100 km/h at a height H = 2500 m and lands with a speed vf = 5.00 m/s. Use the “conservation of energy strategy” to calculate the change in internal energy of the system from just after the jump until just before landing. (1E6)

Homework Equations



PE+KE=PE[f]+KE[f]

The Attempt at a Solution



I'm thinking that where it talks about the airplane traveling at 100 km/h makes no difference in this problem. So the actual initial velocity would be vi=0km/h then I think I would calculate the velocity without Air Resistance and then factor in the difference of speed. Am I headed in the right direction.
 
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He will have speed 100 km/h initially. Don't forget to convert to m/s.
 
Why though? is the plane traveling downward?
 
Direction is not important in calculating energy. The parachutist will have a horizontal speed of 100 - same as the plane - when he first let's go.
 

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