Question

Suppose that a person takes 0.5 s to react and move his hand to catch an object he has dropped. (a) How far does the object fall on Earth, where g=9.8 m/s²? (b) How far does the object fall on the Moon, where the acceleration due to gravity is 1/6 of that on Earth?

a) (a) 1.22 m, (b) 0.20 m
b) (a) 1.22 m, (b) 1.22 m
c) (a) 0.20 m, (b) 1.22 m
d) (a) 0.20 m, (b) 0.20 m

Answer 1

On Earth, the object falls approximately 1.225 meters, while on the Moon, it falls approximately 0.204 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the distance an object falls, we can use the formula d = 1/2 * g * t^2, where d is the distance, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and t is the time taken to fall.

(a) On Earth, where g = 9.8 m/s², we can substitute the values into the formula: d = 1/2 * 9.8 * (0.5)^2 = 1.225 m. Therefore, the object falls approximately 1.225 meters on Earth.

(b) On the Moon, where the acceleration due to gravity is 1/6 of that on Earth, we can substitute the values into the formula: d = 1/2 * (9.8/6) * (0.5)^2 = 0.204 m. Therefore, the object falls approximately 0.204 meters on the Moon.