The toy car in the image runs off the edge of a table that is 1.225 m high. The car lands 0.400 m from the base of the table. a. How long did it take the car to fall?

Answer 1

The toy car becomes a projectile once it leaves the edge of the table. After this point it has horizontal and vertical components to its velocity. The time it takes to reach the ground depends on the height of the table while the distance from the table is determined by the time and initial horizontal velocity before it leave the table. Remember v_yo= 0 since the initial velocity is horizontal and there is no acceleration in the x direction.

The equations for horizontal motion and vertical motion are

x = v_xt

y = -gt²

The second equation has quantities that we know. y =-1.225 m and g=-9.8 m/s²

-1.225=-9,8 t²

0.125 =t²

0.35355 =t

You can use this value of t to determine the value of the velocity of the car on the table.