A rocket is launched straight up with constant acceleration. Four seconds after liftoff, a bolt falls off the side of the rocket. The bolt hits the ground 6.10s later. What was the rocket's acceleration?

Answer 1

consider the bolt when on the rocket.

Vfbolt=a*4
hfbolt=1/2*a*16=8a
Now in the free fall portion, these become vi, and hi for the bolt

vfbolt=vibolt-g*6.1=4a-6.1g
hfbolt=6.1*4a-1/2 g 6.1^2+8a=0
from this second equation
you can solve for a.

Answer 2

5.627 m/s^2