If the Transco Tower were actually 3,000. meters tall, how long in seconds would an object take to free-fall off of the top of the building? (ignoring air resistance).

Answer 1

Use the equation (valid for dropping, i.e., initial velocity is zero):

x = 1/2at² where "x" is the height (or distance to the ground), "a" is the acceleration due to gravity which is 9.8 m/s², and "t" is the time it takes. If you multiply both sides of the equation by 2 and divide both sides of the equation by "a" you will get:

t² = 2x/a

So t² = 2(3000)/9.8

Multiply/divide and then take the square root to get "t"