Question

Scientists explored how hoverflies detect motion by Festing their response to a free-fall condition Hovertlies were dropped from rest in a 40-cm-tall enclosure. Air resistance was not significant, and the flies could easily withstand a crash landing. The illumination in the enclosure and the patterning of the walls were adjusted between trials. Hoverflies dropped in darkness were generally not able to detect that they were falling in time to avoid crashing into the floor, while hoverflies dropped in a lighted enclosure with striped walls were generally able to avoid this fate. The findings imply that hoverflies rely on a visual rather than a kinesthetic sense to detect the condition of free fall. Suppose a hovertly detects that it is falling 150 ms after being dropped, a typical time, and then starts beating its wings.

A. How far has it fallen after 150 ms ?

Answer 1

The hoverfly falls approximately 0.110 meters or 11.025 centimeters after 150 milliseconds using the motion equation s = ½gt², where g is the acceleration due to gravity.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate how far the hoverfly has fallen after 150 ms, we can use the equations of motion under constant acceleration due to gravity. The equation for distance s when starting from rest is s = ½gt², where g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s²) and t is the time in seconds.

First, we convert the time from milliseconds to seconds: 150 ms = 0.150 seconds.

Then we plug the values into the equation:

• s = ½ * 9.8 m/s² * (0.150²)
• s = ½ * 9.8 m/s² * 0.0225
• s = 0.11025 m

So the hoverfly falls approximately 0.110 meters, or 11.025 centimeters, after 150 milliseconds.