A skydiver is at a height of 10,000 m. Assuming no air resistance, how fast is the skydiver travelling at 9,990 m above the ground?
The skydiver has potential energy at the top of his/her jump, which is transferred to kinetic energy when he/she jumps. The difference in height between the start of the jump and the point at which his/her velocity is being measured is: 10,000-9,990 = 10 m This means that the potential energy in a height of 10 m has been transferred to kinetic energy. So:
Ep=Ek=mgh=(1/2)mv2
=m(9.81)(10)=(1/2)mv2 --> The mass (m) terms cancel
=98.1=(1/2)v2
=196.2=v2 --> Taking the square root of both sides gives the answer below Which means v=14 ms-1
CB
Related Physics GCSE answers
All answers ▸A ball of mass 1kg is rolled down a hill of height 10m. At the bottom it collides with another ball of mass 5kg. What speed does the second ball move away with? You can assume the collision between the balls is elastic.
A coil is connected to a voltmeter. A bar magnet, initially held above the coil, is left to fall into the coil. Explain why the voltmeter shows a reading. How will the reading of the voltmeter be affected if the magnet is dropped from a greater height?
A ball of mass 500g is dropped from rest 2m above the ground. When it reaches the ground it is travelling at 5m/s. How much energy has been dissipated?
Explain how red-shift provides evidence for the Big Bang theory.