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A 0.14-kg pinecone falls 16m on the ground, where it lands with aspeed of 13 m/s.

A) What speed would the pinecone have landed if there had been noair resistance?
B) How much work was done on the pinecone by air resistance?
C) What was the avg. air resistance exerted on the pinecone?

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Using Physics principles, we can determine the landing speed of a pinecone without air resistance, the work done by air resistance, and the average air resistance experienced by the pinecone during its fall.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question relates to the kinematics and dynamics principles of Physics, where air resistance affects the motion of objects. To solve part A of the question about the pinecone, we use the work-energy principle, which, without air resistance, states that the potential energy lost by the pinecone when falling would be converted entirely into kinetic energy. Using the equation of motion under gravity, v = sqrt(2 g h), where v is final velocity, g is acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2), and h is height, we calculate the impact velocity without air resistance.

For part B of the question, the work done by air resistance can be calculated using the work-energy principle: work = change in kinetic energy + change in potential energy. The work done by air resistance will be the difference between the kinetic energy the pinecone would have without air resistance and the actual kinetic energy it has with air resistance.

Part C asks for average air resistance, which requires us to find the force of air resistance and then average it over the distance fallen. This can be found using the work done by air resistance from part B, with the equation work = force x distance, where distance is the 16 m fallen by the pinecone.

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