A bean bag is launched vertically upwards at 29.4 m/s. How long does it take to reach the maximum height?

Question

Physics question

Answer 1

Hi Katie. Taking upwards as the positive direction, the acceleration of the bean bag will be a constant -9.8 m/s². 

Note that acceleration = Δv/Δt and solve that equation for Δt:

 

Δt = Δv/a

 

Δv = v_f - v_i

 

v_f = 0 because the vertical velocity of bean bag is instantaneously 0 at its maximum height - and that is a fact worth remembering for similar problems, including projectile motion, in the future. Subbing the known values into the equation for Δt gives:

 

Δt  =  (0 - 29.4)/-9.8

 

= 3 sec