Question

A paratrooper fell 380m from an airplane without being able to open his chute but happened to land in snow, suffering only minor injuries. Assume that his speed at impact was 58 m/s(terminal speed), that his mass (including gear) was 90 kg, and that the force on him from the snow was at the survvivable limist of 1.2 x 10^8 N

what is the minimum depth of snow that would have stopped him safetly

what is the magnitude of the impluse on him from the snow

Answer 1

Force * (Stopping distance)
= work done on the snow
= kinetic energy at impact
= (1/2) M V^2

X = (1/2) M V^2/(1.2 x 10^8 N)

The impulse, I, is equal to the momentum change

I = M V