Question

Mr. Edmondson's catapult fires a water balloon at Mr. Curtis. The balloon leaves the catapult with an initial velocity of 34 m/s and decelerates as it travels at 2.9 m/s^2. If it takes 3.8 seconds to hit Mr. Curtis, with what velocity will it impact?

A. 22.64 m/s
B. 15.52 m/s
C. 18.44 m/s
D. 25.76 m/s

Answer 1

The velocity at which the water balloon will impact Mr. Curtis is approximately 22.6 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the velocity at which the water balloon will impact, we need to calculate the time it takes for the balloon to hit Mr. Curtis. We can use the equation of motion d = vi * t + 0.5 * a * t^2 to solve for time, where d is the distance travelled, vi is the initial velocity, a is the deceleration, and t is the time taken. Plugging in the given values and solving the quadratic equation gives us t = 3.831 seconds.

Next, we can find the final velocity using the equation v = vi + a * t, where v is the final velocity. Plugging in the values gives us v = 34 - 2.9 * 3.831 = 22.6308 m/s. Rounding to the nearest tenth, the velocity will be approximately 22.6 m/s.