John R. answered 02/06/13
John R: Math, Science, and History Teacher
I am going to work this problem in two parts. First, I am going to only deal with vertical components to find out how much time it takes the ball to reach the first step:
Knowns:
a = g = -9.81 m/s2
vi= 0 m/s
xi = 0 m
xf = -.19 m
1/2at2 + vit + xi = xf
1/2(-9.81)t2 + 0t + 0 = -.19
t2 = 2*(-.19)/(-9.81)
t = .0387 s
Now, we will determine how far the ball traveled horizontally in this time.
Known:
v = 3.4 m/s
t = .0387 s
v = x/t
x = vt
x = 3.4*(.0387)
x = .132 m
Therefor, the ball strikes the top step. It would have to travel .29 m horizontally before dropping .19 m vertically in order to not hit the top step.