A very strong, but inept, shot putter puts the shot straight up vertically with an initial velocity of 11.0 m/s. How long does he have to get out of the way if the shot was released at a height of 2.20 m, and he is 1.80 m tall?
Solution:
The known values are: y_0=2.20\:\text{m}; y=1.80\:\text{m}; v_0=11.0\:\text{m/s}; and a=-9.80\:\text{m/s}^2
We are going to use the formula
\Delta y=v_0t+\frac{1}{2}at^2
Substituting the given values:
\begin{align*}
\Delta y & =v_0t+\frac{1}{2}at^2 \\
1.80\:\text{m}-2.20\:\text{m} & =\left(11.0\:\text{m/s}\right)t+\frac{1}{2}\left(-9.80\:\text{m/s}^2\right)t^2 \\
-0.40\:\text{m} & =\left(11.0\:\text{m/s}\right)t-\left(4.90\:\text{m/s}^2\right)t^2 \\
4.90t^2-11t-0.40 & =0
\end{align*}
Using the quadratic formula solve for t, we have
\begin{align*}
t & =\frac{-\left(-11\right)\pm \sqrt{\left(-11\right)^2-4\left(4.90\right)\left(-0.40\right)}}{2\left(4.90\right)} \\
\end{align*}
t=2.28\:\text{sec}\:\:\:\:\:\text{or}\:\:\:\:\:\:t=-0.04 \ \text{sec}
We can discard the negative time, so
t=2.28\:\text{s} \ \qquad \ \color{DarkOrange} \left( \text{Answer} \right)
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