Question

Michael Holmes (mass = 70 kg) jumped from an airplane 3700 m above Lake Taupo, New Zealand. His main parachute failed to open and his backup chute became tangled in its cords. The partially opened parachute slowed his descent to 36 m/s (about 80 mi/hr). Holmes plunged through a 2-m-high thicket of wild shrubbery and survived with a collapsed right lung and broken ankle. Estimate the average force exerted by the shrubbery on his body while slowing down and stopping.

Answer 1

To estimate the force exerted by the shrubbery, we can use Newton's second law of motion and calculate the deceleration. The average force exerted by the shrubbery on Michael's body is approximately 22,032 N.

Step-by-step explanation:

To estimate the average force exerted by the shrubbery on Michael's body, we can use Newton's second law of motion: Force = mass × acceleration. We know that Michael's mass is 70 kg and his speed is reduced from 36 m/s to zero m/s over a distance of 2 m. Using the equation (final velocity)^2 = (initial velocity)^2 + 2 × acceleration × distance, we can calculate the deceleration as (0^2 - 36^2) / (2 × 2) = -324 m/s^2. Since deceleration is negative, we take the absolute value to find the magnitude of the force. Thus, the average force exerted by the shrubbery on Michael's body is approximately 22,032 N.