Step-by-step explanation:
Use the height of the cliff to determine how long it took the car to land.
Take down to be positive. Given:
Δy = 7.93 m
v₀ = 0 m/s
a = 9.8 m/s²
Find: t
Δy = v₀ t + ½ at²
7.93 m = (0 m/s) t + ½ (9.8 m/s²) t²
t = 1.27 s
Use the time to calculate the horizontal velocity.
Given:
Δx = 26.7 m
a = 0 m/s²
Find: v₀
Δx = v₀ t + ½ at²
26.7 m = v₀ (1.27 s) + ½ (0 m/s²) (1.27 s)²
v₀ = 21.0 m/s
The driver was going 21.0 m/s, faster than the speed limit of 9.72 m/s.