Projectile Motion: Finding Distance to Clear a Wall

smartblonde
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Homework Statement


A ball is thrown at 60deg with v(subzero) = 20 meters/sec to clear a wall that is 2 meters high. how far away is the wall?


Homework Equations


h=((v(subzero)*sin(theta))^2)/g


The Attempt at a Solution


I tried inserting my givens into the height equation and came up with a very funky answer. here 'tis:
h= ((20sin60)^2)/9.8=30.6
my answer key says x=1.2 or 33.5. I know I'd have to subtract 2 from the number I got, but that doesn't explain the discrepancy between my answer and the one the text gives. what am I doing wrong?
 
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Your "height equation" is slightly wrong. There's a factor of 2 somewhere you forgot to include.
 
oh--it's supposed to be 2g, right? well, that still gives me 15.3 which is not the answer I'm looking for. I've used this same equation (correctly) on other problems and I'm not sure why this one isn't coming out the same.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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