Question

An astronaut drops a feather from 1.25 m above the surface of the moon. The acceleration due to gravity on the moon is 1.62 m/s². a) How long does it take the feather to hit the ground? b) How long would it take a hammer to fall the same distance?

Answer 1

a)

the equation for time in air is
`\sqrt(2h)/(g)` when
`v_i = 0` and air resistance is negligible

so
`\sqrt{(2\cdot1.25m)/(1.62(m)/(s^(2)))}` which is 1.242s.

b)

since there is no air on the moon, it is also 1.242s.