Projectile motion, missed two weeks, fell behind, no book, Please help Thank you

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around solving three projectile motion problems due to a participant falling behind in class after illness. The first problem involves calculating how far in front of an island a plane should drop supplies from 2 km at 200 m/s, requiring the determination of time to fall and horizontal distance. The second problem focuses on a watermelon thrown from a height of 40 meters at an angle, where the participant has identified the initial velocity components but struggles with the total time of flight and landing distance. The third problem concerns a football kicked at an angle, where the participant has calculated time in the air and landing distance but seeks confirmation on the final speed and direction upon impact. Key advice emphasizes breaking down each problem into horizontal and vertical components and using time as a linking parameter for calculations.
Bearman94
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Homework Statement


Hi guys, I am not one to ask for help but i missed ALOT of school because I got sick and I was wondering if anyone could solve three problems for me and help me out!
Thanks in advance !
Problem 1-
A plane is dropping a supply of coconuts to survivors of the USS Minnow, who are stranded on a desert island. If the plane is 2km in the air and is traveling at 200 m/s, How far in front of the island should the supplies be dropped?
Problem 2- A watermelon is thrown off the 10th (40 meters above the ground) floor of a building. It is launched with a speed of 30 m/s at an angle of 40 degrees above the horizontal. How far away does it land?
Problem 3- A football is kicked at 25 m/s at an angle of 50 Degrees.
How fast is the football traveling when it strikes the ground and what direction is it traveling.
show work please.
and once again, I'm very grateful to anyone who will help me out! I am trying to do better in this class and I just happened to get sick:/

Homework Equations


All can be found here - http://tutor4physics.com/projectilemotion.htm
And on other sites, but none seem to copy + Paste
Equation of Trajectory (Path of projectile)

The Attempt at a Solution


AND I have read the FAQ and the statement, however, I am really in a bad position here, I have attemped these but I know that it is not right, and Posting it would just probably make me look dumb and contribute nothing. I know how projectile motion works and I have done about 80% of my Homework, but these 3 problems are stumping me.

For the Watermelon Problem All i know is the X and Y Componants
Which are Cos(40Deg) * 30 M/s and Sin(40Deg) * 30 m/s
And that A=Change in V / T
so
- 9.8m/s^2= -30 /t
-9.8m/s^2 * t = -30
T = 3.06
And then I know you must use the 40m To make another vector to complete the problem.
For the Football Problem I know.
How Long it is in the air- 3.9 Seconds
Because Ttotal=38.3m/s / 9.8 m/s
How high it goes= 18.7m
How far away does it land 62.8 m
because Range= (25M/S)^2 * Sin2(50) /
9.8 M/s^2But for the plane problem I am totally lost
 
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The key to all projectile motion problems is to remember that the x component of the velocity will remain unchanged from start to finish, and the y component of the velocity will decrease according to gravitational acceleration. Therefore, for any problem, you should first begin by determining the initial x and y velocities, and then you will have two independent problems to solve--one in x, and one in y.

For 1, the y velocity begins at 0. The plane is 2km up, so first of all, you should try to figure out how long it will take to hit the ground. Once that's done, try to determine what the horizontal velocity is, and then you should have enough information to determine how far forward the coconuts will go.

For 2, you've already determined the watermelon's initial vertical velocity. For a moment, just pretend the watermelon was thrown straight up into the air, instead of at an angle. Again, try to figure out how long it takes to go up into the air, fall back to its starting point, and then fall an additional 40m.

3 is exactly the same as 2, except the football only goes down to 0, not any further.

In all cases, time is the parameter that links the x and y equations together. Find that, and you should be able to compute all the other missing quantities off of it. The equations at http://physics.bu.edu/~redner/211-sp06/class01/equations.html might prove useful--they seem a bit more straightforwardly written than the ones on the page you linked. For each problem, write down each variable that you know, and determine which equation has only one unknown quantity left in it.
 


There are 2 component of the flight of the coconuts.
1. Horizontal component, no acceleration
2. Vertical component with acceleration due to gravity.

V=ut+1/2(at²)
2000=1/2(10 t²) taking a=10m/s² and they dropped, with no initial vertical velocity.
400=t² => t=20sec

H=ut+1/2(at²) where a=0
H=20(200)= 4km.
 
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