Final answer:
The velocity of the apple 5.5 seconds after falling is approximately 53.9 m/s, assuming it started from rest and that there's a constant acceleration due to gravity of 9.8 m/s².
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the velocity of the apple 5.5 seconds after it falls from the window, one can use the guess method. First, we acknowledge that the apple falls with a constant acceleration due to gravity, which is 9.8 m/s2.
The formula for velocity under uniform acceleration is
v = u + at,
where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration, and t is the time.
Since the apple starts from rest, the initial velocity u is 0 m/s.
We can plug in the acceleration due to gravity for a and 5.5 s for t.
Using the guess method, let's estimate: If the apple had fallen for just 1 second, its velocity would be 9.8 m/s. So after 5.5 seconds, without calculating exactly, we can estimate that it would be roughly 5.5 times that speed.
Therefore, an estimated guess might be around 54 m/s. To calculate precisely, we can multiply 9.8 m/s2 by 5.5 s.
The exact answer is v = 0 + (9.8 m/s2)(5.5 s) = 53.9 m/s.