College Physics by Openstax Chapter 3 Problem 36

The world long jump record is 8.95 m (Mike Powell, USA, 1991). Treated as a projectile, what is the maximum range obtainable by a person if he has a take-off speed of 9.5 m/s? State your assumptions.

Solution:

We are required to solve for the maximum distance. To do this, we can use the formula for the range of a projectile motion. However, we need the following assumptions:

  • The jumper leaves the ground in a 45° angle from the horizontal, for maximum horizontal displacement.
  • The jumper is on level ground, and the motion started from the ground.

The formula for range is

R=vo2sin⁡2θog\text{R}=\frac{\text{v}_{\text{o}}^2\sin 2\theta _{\text{o}}}{\text{g}}

Since we are already given the necessary details, we can now solve for the range.

R=(9.5 m/s)2 sin⁡90∘9.81 m/s2R=9.20 m  (Answer)\begin{align*} \text{R}&=\frac{\left(9.5\:\text{m/s}\right)^2\:\sin 90^{\circ} }{9.81\:\text{m/s}^2}\\ \text{R}&=9.20\:\text{m}\ \qquad \ \color{DarkOrange} \left( \text{Answer} \right)\\ \end{align*}
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