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Question

A pelican flying along a horizontal path drops a fish from a height of 3.9 m. The fish travels 9.3 m horizontally before it hits the water below. What was the pelican’s initial speed? The acceleration of gravity is 9.81 m/s 2 .

part 2

If the pelican was traveling at the same speed but was only 1.7 m above the water, how far would the fish travel horizontally before hitting the water below?

Answer 1

For part (1), calculate the time of flight from the height, then divide the horizontal travel distance by the time of flight to get the initial (and constant) horizontal speed.

h = gt²/2 ⇒

t = √(2h/g)

Plug in

h = 3.9 m

g = 9.81 m/s²

and get t in seconds. Then

v_x = x/t

Plug in

x = 9.3 m

t = result from above

and get v_x in m/s. Now try working part (2) using the same reasoning and equations.