Many birds drop clams or other shell fish in order to break the shell and get the food inside. Suppose a crow drops a shell from a height of 5.2m. How long does it take to reach the ground?

The rate of gravity acceleration is 9.81 m/s/s

5.2m * (1second/9.81m)= .53 sec= .009 min= 1.47e^-4 hours= 6.14e^-6 days

To determine the time it takes for the shell to reach the ground, we can apply the laws of motion and use the equation for free fall. The equation is:

\[ h = \frac{1}{2}gt^2 \]

where:
- \( h \) is the height from which the shell is dropped (5.2m in this case),
- \( g \) is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s² on Earth),
- \( t \) is the time it takes for the shell to reach the ground (what we want to find).

To solve for \( t \), we rearrange the equation:

\[ t = \sqrt{\frac{2h}{g}} \]

Now we can substitute the values given into the formula:

\[ t = \sqrt{\frac{2(5.2)}{9.8}} \]

Simplifying further:

\[ t = \sqrt{\frac{10.4}{9.8}} \]
\[ t \approx \sqrt{1.0612} \approx 1.03 \]

Therefore, it takes approximately 1.03 seconds for the shell to reach the ground when dropped from a height of 5.2m.