Projectile motion skateboarder problem

AI Thread Summary
A skateboarder on a 1.0-meter-high, 30-degree ramp starts with a speed of 7.0 m/s but experiences negative acceleration while ascending. The correct initial speed for projectile motion must be calculated based on the skateboarder's velocity at the ramp's peak, which is less than 7.0 m/s. After accounting for this, the skateboarder’s speed at takeoff is determined to be 5.4 m/s, leading to a calculated landing distance of 3.78 meters. The initial miscalculations stemmed from using the speed at the bottom of the ramp instead of the speed at takeoff. Understanding the change in velocity due to the ramp's incline is crucial for solving projectile motion problems accurately.
Chiborino
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Homework Statement


A skateboarder starts up a 1.0-m-high, 30-degree ramp at a speed of 7.0 m/s. The skateboard wheels roll without friction. How far from the end of the ramp does the skateboarder touch down?

angle = 30 degrees
vi = 7.0 m/s
a = -9.8 m/s2
initial height = 1 m

Homework Equations


y = x*tanθ + ax2/(2*vi^2*cos2θ) [graphs the path of a projectile]

vf=vi+at
vf2=vi2+2ad
dy=viyt+.5at2
dx=vixt

The Attempt at a Solution


First, I graphed the path of the projectile, and since it forms a parabola whose roots are the max distances, I got an answer of 5.65 m. The homework problem is online, so it told me that it was wrong.

Not knowing where I went wrong graphing it, I found the time it spent in the air by plugging into vf2=vi2+2ad, and then plugging vf into vf=vi+at for t0 to the max height. Then I just used the diy= .5at2 equation to find the time form the peak to the ground. The total time I got was .933 seconds. Multiplying this by the horizontal component of his velocity (vi*cosθ = 7.0*cos30 = 6.1) I got 5.69 seconds (probably a little different from my calculator since my calculator ignores significant figures even more than I do). Again, this was wrong.

So I gave up and clicked show answer: 3.78 meters.
I don't get how my teacher got this answer.
 
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What did you use for the initial speed for the projectile part of the motion? I hope it was not 7 m/s because that's his velocity at the bottom of the ramp. At the top of the ramp, when he is about to take off, his velocity will be less than 7 m/s and you need to calculate what it is.
 
Ah, all the other problems in the set listed vi as the velocity the object becomes airborne with, so I assumed that was the case here as well. Factoring in that negative acceleration up the ramp got me 5.4 m/s leaving the ramp, which got me 3.78 meters.
 
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