A large rock is dropped from a plane flying horizontally at an altitude of 4.00 x 10 ^3 ( to the power of 3) and with a speed of 900km h.

a) calculate the distance that the rock will move horizontally before hitting the ground

b) find the velocity of the rock just before it hits the ground

1 answer

900km/hr = 250m/s

How long does it take to fall 4000m?
4.9t^2 = 4000
t = 28.57s

How far does the rock travel?
250m/s * 28.57s = 7142.8m = 7.1km

What's its speed?
horizontal: 250m/s
vertical: 9.8*28.57=280m/s
total speed: √(250^2 + 280^2) = 375.4m/s