Question #74122
What is the momentum of a 50 kg skydiver who falls for 2 seconds?
Expert's answer
The momentum p of an object of mass m and velocity v is defined according to the following relationship:
p=mv
The velocity of any free falling object at any time is
v=at
The acceleration is constant and equal to the gravitational acceleration g which is 9.8 meters per square second at sea level on the Earth.
So,
p=mgt=(50 kg)(9.8 m/s^2 )(2 s)=980 kg m/s
p=mv
The velocity of any free falling object at any time is
v=at
The acceleration is constant and equal to the gravitational acceleration g which is 9.8 meters per square second at sea level on the Earth.
So,
p=mgt=(50 kg)(9.8 m/s^2 )(2 s)=980 kg m/s
