Question

NASA operates a 2.2-second drop tower at the Glenn Research Centre in Cleveland, Ohio. At this facility, experimental packages are dropped from the top of the tower, on the 8th floor of the building. During their 2.2 seconds of free fall, experiments experience a microgravity environment similar to that of a spacecraft in orbit,

(a) What is the drop distance of a 2.2-s tower?
(b) How fast are the experiments travelling when they hit the air bags at the bottom of the tower?
(c) If the experimental package comes to rest over a distance of 0.75 m upon hitting the air bags, what is the average stopping acceleration?

Answer 1

Answer:

23.7402 m

21.582 m/s

310.521816 m/s²

Explanation:

t = Time taken

u = Initial velocity

v = Final velocity

s = Displacement

g = Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s² = a

Equation of motion

$s=ut+\dfrac{1}{2}at^2\\\Rightarrow s=0\times t+\dfrac{1}{2}\times 9.81\times 2.2^2\\\Rightarrow s=23.7402\ m$

The drop distance is 23.7402 m

$v=u+at\\\Rightarrow v=0+9.81\times 2.2\\\Rightarrow v=21.582\ m/s$

When they hit the air bags at the bottom of the tower the speed of the experiments is 21.582 m/s

The final speed of the fall will be the initial velocity of stopping

$v^2-u^2=2as\\\Rightarrow a=\frac{v^2-u^2}{2s}\\\Rightarrow a=\frac{0^2-21.582^2}{2\times 0.75}\\\Rightarrow a=-310.521816\ m/s^2$

The average stopping acceleration is 310.521816 m/s²