Question

A squirrel leapt from a tree, jumping completely parallel to the horizontal, and landing with a final velocity in the y-direction of -14.73 m/s. How long was the squirrel in the air before striking the ground?

A. 1.5 seconds
B. 2.0 seconds
C. 2.5 seconds
D. 3.0 seconds

Answer 1

The squirrel was in the air for 1.5 seconds before striking the ground.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this question, we are asked to determine how long a squirrel was in the air before striking the ground. Since we are given the final velocity in the y-direction (-14.73 m/s) and we know that the squirrel jumped parallel to the horizontal, we can assume that only vertical motion is involved and ignore air resistance.

Using the equation v = u + at, where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration, and t is the time, we can solve for t.

Given that the acceleration due to gravity is -9.8 m/s², we can plug in the values into the equation:

-14.73 = 0 + (-9.8)t

Simplifying the equation, we get:

t = 1.5 seconds

Therefore, the squirrel was in the air for 1.5 seconds before striking the ground.