# Nathan is walking to the store and sees a snake slithering across the sidewalk. He jumps over it with an initial vertical velocity of 10 ft/

Question

Nathan is walking to the store and sees a snake slithering across the sidewalk. He jumps over it with an initial vertical velocity of 10 ft/s. How long does it take for Nathan to land back on the ground

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2 years 2021-07-29T15:38:45+00:00 1 Answers 6 views 0

$$0.62\:\mathrm{s}$$

Explanation:

Since the universal SI unit for velocity is meters/second, let’s convert ft/s to m/s:

$$10\:\mathrm{ft/s}=3.048\:\mathrm{m/s}$$

We can use the following kinematics equation to solve this question:

$$v_f=v_i+at$$

What we know:

• The initial velocity, $$v_i$$, is $$3.048\:\mathrm{m/s}$$
• (physics concept) The final velocity must be equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the initial velocity ($$v_f=-3.048\:\mathrm{m/s}$$)
• Acceleration, $$a$$, is acceleration due to gravity at about $$9.8\:\mathrm{m/s}$$

Solving for $$t$$:

$$-3.048=3.048+(-9.8t),\\-6.096=-9.8t,\\t=\frac{-6.096}{-9.8}\approx \boxed{0.62\:\mathrm{s}}$$