Question

A ball of mass 0.3 kg is released from rest at a height of 8 m. How fast is it going when it hits the ground? (Gravity being equal to 9.8)

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Mass doesn't matter here because when something is falling, gravity plays fairly; an elephant falls at the same rate of acceleration as does a feather. What DOES matter is everything pertinent to the y-dimension of free-fall:

a = -9.8 m/s/s

v₀ = 0 (since the ball was held before it was dropped)

v = ??

Δx = -8 m (negative because the ball drops this far below the point from which it was released).

Putting all this together in one equation:

v² = v₀² + 2aΔx and filling in this equation:

v² = (0)² + 2(-9.8)(-8) and

v² = 156.8 so

v = 12.5 which rounds to 13 if you're using 2 sig figs, and rounds to 10 if you're only using 1 (which you should be, according to the way the numbers have been given in this problem)