Question

A man jumps from a great height and falls freely to the Earth. Another man jumps from the same height 1 s later. How much are the two men separated by, 2 s after the second man jumps?

I'm not sure exactly how to tackle this question. I'm sure I'm making it more complicated than it is supposed to be.

Thanks.

Answer 1

The second man is travelling for 2 seconds.

The first man is travelling for 3 seconds.

acceleration due to gravity = 9.8m/sec^2

d = vt
v = at
we can combine to get

d =at^2 a in this case is g.

You can find the distance of each jumper and find the difference.

Answer 2

Great. Thanks a lot.

Answer 3

You are welcome.

Answer 4

[AI-generated answer — Explain Bot]

To solve this question, you can use the equations of motion and the concept of free fall. Let's break down the problem into steps:

1. Understand the scenario:
- Two men are jumping from the same height, one after the other.
- We want to find the vertical distance between them 2 seconds after the second person jumps.

2. Define the variables:
- Let's assume both men have zero initial velocity when they jump.
- Let's call the height from which they jump "h."
- We need to find the vertical distance between the two men, which we can call "d" after 2 seconds.

3. Analyze the motion:
- Both men are falling freely towards the Earth due to gravity.
- The acceleration due to gravity is approximately 9.8 m/s² (varies slightly depending on location and altitude).
- We can assume that there is no air resistance.

4. Determine the time of flight for each person:
- The first person starts falling immediately after jumping, so they have a total fall time of 2 seconds.
- The second person jumps 1 second later, so their fall time is 1 second less, which is 1 second.

5. Calculate the distance fallen by each person:
- Since both men fall freely, they experience the same acceleration.
- We can use the equation: distance = (1/2) × acceleration × time².
- For the first person: distance₁ = (1/2) × 9.8 × (2²) = 19.6 meters.
- For the second person: distance₂ = (1/2) × 9.8 × (1²) = 4.9 meters.

6. Find the vertical separation after 2 seconds:
- The first person has fallen a total distance of 19.6 meters in 2 seconds.
- The second person has fallen a total distance of 4.9 meters in 2 seconds (1 second before the first person and 1 second on their own).
- To find the vertical separation, subtract the distance fallen by the second person from that of the first person:
d = 19.6 meters - 4.9 meters = 14.7 meters.

Therefore, the two men are separated by a vertical distance of 14.7 meters, 2 seconds after the second person jumps.