Solving Projectile Motion: How High Will John's Apple Fly?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves projectile motion, specifically analyzing the height an apple thrown by John will reach when thrown from a height of 1.3 m with an initial velocity of 2.4 m/s, in relation to a friend's location in a treehouse 5 m above the ground.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the need for additional information, such as the angle of the throw and the distance to the friend. Some consider the conservation of energy to determine if the apple can reach the required height. Others explore the use of kinematic equations and question the appropriateness of the formulas being applied.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring various aspects of the problem. Some have suggested using basic physics principles and equations related to motion, while others are questioning the assumptions made regarding the throw's angle and the necessary parameters for calculations.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the constraints of the problem, including the lack of information about the angle of the throw and the distance to the friend, as well as the imposed homework rules that guide the discussion.

cherica48
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Help me please I've been stuck on this problem for an hour now...

John throws and apple from a height of 1.3 m with velocity of 2.4 m/s. Will it reach his friend in a treehouse 5 m above the ground?

My book gives the answer "No, it will only reach 1.6 m," but I really want to know how to do this. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
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I would think you'd need to know the angle of the throw and how far away the friend is, but I'm quite a beginner so I'm not sure.
 
Consider conservation of energy. Will the apple have enough energy to make it to that height (regardless of the angle it's thrown)?
 
Whoops, sorry about the homework help violation...in such a rush to figure this out that I didnt see the rule.

I'm pretty sure he wants us to use a Free Fall kinda thing, with an equation like Vf=Vi+2(a)(t), but not all those factors are there. This is basic physics stuff, we're studying like -9.81 acceleration for gravity, and how to find displacement and velocity and all that.
 
If you threw the apple straight up at that speed, how high would it go?
 
Doc Al said:
If you threw the apple straight up at that speed, how high would it go?

Well that's what the question is asking, and I assume that's displacement. Displacement in our book is

D= .5(Vi+Vf)t

I have Vi(2.4), and Wf would be 0 once it reached the top, but I don't know t. Am I using the wrong formula here? I have no idea what to do... :frown:
 
You can find the time using the definition of acceleration:
v_f = v_i + at
 

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