An airplane at an altitude of 35,000 feet begins descending at a rate of 2,000 feet per minute. How long will it take the airplane to reach the ground?

Question

Functions & Linear relationships

Answer 1

Michelle,

My answer is different than what Sam gave, because I interpreted your question to mean that the plane is in a controlled decent, not falling out of the sky. Therefore,

35,000 ft / 2,000 ft per minute = 17.5 minutes

Answer 2

The gravitational pull of Earth is 32.2ft/sec^2.

A plane falling from 3.5*10^4' will fall for 46.13 seconds when it hits the ground.

The formula is: ((t^2+t)/2)*32.2.

If using above values You'll get 35/2=17.5 sec.