Answer: 56.72 ft/s
Step-by-step explanation:
Ok, initially we only have potential energy, that is equal to:
U =m*g*h
where g is the gravitational acceleration, m the mass and h the height.
h = 50ft and g = 32.17 ft/s^2
when the watermelon is near the ground, all the potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy, and the kinetic energy can be written as:
K = (1/2)*m*v^2
where v is the velocity.
Then we have:
K = U
m*g*h = (m/2)*v^2
we solve it for v.
v = √(2g*h) = √(2*32.17*50) ft/s = 56.72 ft/s