Question

Amanda steps out of her hot air balloon at an altitude of 850 m and begins to fall vertically to the surface of the Earth. After 5.0 seconds she pulls her parachute ripcord. How fast was she travelling the moment she pulled the ripcord?

Answer 1

Amanda was travelling at 49 m/s when she pulled the parachute ripcord after falling for 5 seconds, calculated using the formula V=at with an acceleration due to gravity of 9.8 m/s².

Step-by-step explanation:

The student asks how fast Amanda was travelling the moment she pulled the ripcord of her parachute after falling from an altitude of 850 m. To find this, we can use the formula for velocity which states that velocity (V) is equal to acceleration (a) multiplied by time (t), V=at. Assuming negligible air drag, we know the acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s².

Amanda pulls the parachute after falling for 5.0 seconds. Therefore, her velocity at that moment would be:

V = a × t = 9.8 m/s² × 5.0 s = 49 m/s

Thus, Amanda was travelling at 49 m/s when she pulled the ripcord.