A spy in a speed boat is being chased down a

Question

river by government officials in a faster craft.
Just as the officials’ boat pulls up next to the
spy’s boat, both boats reach the edge of a 4.6
m waterfall. The spy’s speed is 16 m/s and
the officials’ speed is 27 m/s.
How far apart will the two vessels be when
they land below the waterfall? The acceleration of gravity is 9.81 m/s
2
.
Answer in units of m.

Answer 1

how long does it take to fall 4.6m?
4.9t^2 = 4.6
t = 0.9689 s
(what a useless exercise. why not just make it 4.9m, or something more interesting?)
The difference in their speeds is 11 m/s
so they will be 11*0.9689 = 10.66 meters apart when they land.

Answer 2

Thank you so much!