You are trying to find out how high you have
to pitch a water balloon in order for it to burst
when it hits the ground. You discover that
the balloon bursts when you have pitched it
to a height of 16 m. With what velocity did the balloon hit
the ground? The acceleration of gravity is
9.8 m/s^2.
The positive direction is up, so the
velocity when it hits is negative.
Answer in units of m/s.
K.E. at impact equals P.E at peak
1/2 m v^2 = m g h
v = √(2 g h)