Wil-E-Coyote drops a bowlling ball off a cliff to try to catch the Roadrunner. The cliff is 132 m high. What is its impact velocity in m/s?

Answer 1

Hey Shelby,

I'll assume you have notes with all of the 1-d motion equations. What usually trips students up here is that they forget that they know v_i = 0 m/s (because they use the word "drops", you have to assume that to be true). I'll also assume you're neglecting air friction.

1. v_f² ₌ v_i² + 2ad
2. With v_i = 0, and a = g = 9.8m/s², plugging in we have
3. v_f² = 0 + 2 * 9.8 * 132
4. I'll leave the calculation to you