A chunk of Martian rock falls off of a cliff and drops 47.7 m in 5.00 s. What is the acceleration due to gravity on the surface of Mars?
To find the acceleration due to gravity on the surface of Mars, we can use the kinematic equation:
h = v0t + (1/2)gt^2
Where:
- h is the vertical displacement (change in height)
- v0 is the initial velocity (which is 0 since the rock fell off a cliff)
- t is the time (which is 5.00 s)
- g is the acceleration due to gravity on Mars (what we want to find)
In this scenario, the rock fell off the cliff, so the initial velocity v0 is 0. Thus, the equation simplifies to:
h = (1/2)gt^2
We can rearrange this equation to solve for g:
g = (2h) / t^2
Now, we can plug in the given values:
h = 47.7 m
t = 5.00 s
Substituting these into the equation, we can calculate the acceleration due to gravity on Mars:
g = (2 * 47.7 m) / (5.00 s)^2