94.2k views
5 votes
A woman is reported to have fallen 155ft from a building, landing on a metal ventilator box, which she crushed to a depth of 29 in. She suffered only minor injuries. Neglecting air resistance, calculate the speed of the woman just before she collided with the ventilator box.

User Hjsimpson
by
7.7k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

The woman was traveling at approximately 30.5 meters per second just before she collided with the ventilator box, calculated using the physics formula for velocity acquired by an object falling under the influence of gravity.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the speed of the woman just before she collided with the ventilator box, we can use the physics formula for velocity acquired by an object falling under the influence of gravity. The formula is v = √(2gh), where 'v' is the speed, 'g' is the gravitational acceleration, and 'h' is the height from which she fell.

Given 'g' is approximately 9.81 m/s², and 'h' is 155ft, we need to convert 'h' into meters. 1ft is approximately 0.3048 meters. So, 'h' becomes approximately 47.244 meters (155ft * 0.3048 m/ft).

Substituting the values into the formula, v = √(2 * 9.81 m/s² * 47.244 m) = 30.5 m/s. Therefore, the woman was traveling at approximately 30.5 meters per second just before she collided with the ventilator box.

Learn more about Velocity Calculation

User Mikabytes
by
7.7k points