Solutions

1. An object is projected horizontally at 8.0 m/s from the

top of a 122.5 m cliff. How far from the base of the cliff
will the object strike the ground?
8 m/s

x = vx*t
1. An object is projected horizontally at 8.0 m/s from the
top of a 122.5 m cliff. How far from the base of the cliff
will the object strike the ground?

Step 1: Determine how long the object was in the air.

Use the equation d = ½ at2 and solve for time.
Rearrange the equation into
1 2
𝑑 = 𝑎𝑡
2 Our shortcut equation for finding the time an object hits the
2𝑑 = 𝑎𝑡 2 ground from a height of “d”.
2𝑑
= 𝑡2
𝑎
𝟐𝒅
=𝒕
𝒂
1. An object is projected horizontally at 8.0 m/s from the
top of a 122.5 m cliff. How far from the base of the cliff
will the object strike the ground?

Step 2: Substitute in the values for d and a and solve for t.

𝟐𝒅
𝒕=
𝒂

𝟐(𝟏𝟐𝟐. 𝟓)
𝒕=
𝟏𝟎
𝒕 = 𝟓 𝐬𝐞𝐜
1. An object is projected horizontally at 8.0 m/s from the
top of a 122.5 m cliff. How far from the base of the cliff
will the object strike the ground?

Step 3: Use the horizontal displacement equation x = vxt

to solve for the displacement from the base of the cliff
the object landed.

x=8x5 8.0 m/s → given

x = 40 meters 5 seconds → solved in
step 2
2. An arrow is shot at 30.0° angle with the horizontal. It
has a velocity of 49 m/s.
a. How high will it go?
b. What is horizontal displacement of the arrow?

NOTE:
vx = horizontal velocity
vx = Vi (cos q)
v y = Vi (sin q)
q = angle of the velocity
2. An arrow is shot at 30.0° angle with the horizontal. It
has a velocity of 49 m/s (a vertical velocity of 24.5 m/s
and horizontal velocity = 42.4 m/s)
a. How high will it go?
b. What horizontal distance will the arrow travel?
(relative to its original height)

height
2. An arrow is shot at 30.0° angle with the horizontal. It
has a velocity of 49 m/s (a vertical velocity of 24.5 m/s
and horizontal velocity = 42.4 m/s)
a. How high will it go?

Step 1: Determine the time it takes for the arrow to reach

it peak. Use the equation
vf = vi + at
and the orientation of up is positive and down is
negative
2. An arrow is shot at 30.0° angle with the horizontal. It
has a velocity of 49 m/s (a vertical velocity of 24.5 m/s
and horizontal velocity = 42.4 m/s)
a. How high will it go?
Step 2: Substitute in the values for vi and a
𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖
𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑎𝑡 =𝑡
𝑎

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑣𝑓 = 0

−𝒗𝒊 −𝟐𝟒.𝟓
Total flight time: 𝒕=𝟐×
𝒂
=𝟐×
−𝟏𝟎
=
𝟒. 𝟗 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔
2. An arrow is shot at 30.0° angle with the horizontal. It
has a velocity of 49 m/s (a vertical velocity of 24.5 m/s
and horizontal velocity = 42.4 m/s)
a. How high will it go?

Step 3: To determine the height, use the equation

d = vit + ½ at2
d = (24.5)2.45 + ½ (-10)(2.45)2
d = 30.0125 meters
2. An arrow is shot at 30.0° angle with the horizontal. It
has a velocity of 49 m/s (a vertical velocity of 24.5 m/s
and horizontal velocity = 42.4 m/s)
a. How high will it go?

Step 3: To determine the height, use the equation

vf2 = vi2 + 2ad
−vi2
d= (our shortcut for finding max. height)
2a
d = -24.52/(2 x (-10)) = 30.0125 m
2. An arrow is shot at 30.0° angle with the horizontal. It
has a velocity of 49 m/s (a vertical velocity of 24.5 m/s
and horizontal velocity = 42.4 m/s)
b. What horizontal distance will the arrow travel?
(relative to its original height)

Step 1: Use the horizontal displacement equation

x = vxt (“t” here is total flight time)
x = (42.4)(4.9) (total flight time = 2 ∙ peaked time)
x = 208 meters
3. A person kicks a rock off a cliff horizontally with a
speed of 20 m/s. It takes 7.0 seconds to hit the ground,
find:
a. height of the cliff
b. final vertical velocity
c. Range (horizontal displacement)
20 m/s

height = _____

x = ____
a. t = 7 seconds
a = -10 m/s2
vi = 0 m/s
d=?

d = vit + ½ at2
d = (0)(7) + ½ (-10)(7)2
d = -5(49)
d = -245 m → height = 245 m
b. t = 7 seconds
a = 10 m/s2
vi = 0 m/s
vf =?

vf = vi + at
vf = 0 + (-10)(7)
vf = -70 m/s
c. x = vhorizontal t
= (20)(7)
= 140 meters
4. A ship fires its guns with a speed of 400 m/s at an
angle of 35° (328 m/s horizontally and 229 m/s
vertically) with the horizontal. Find the range and
maximum altitude.
229 m/s

328 m/s
35o
𝑇𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒,
𝑤𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.
Shortcut equation:
−2𝑣𝑖
𝑡=
𝑎
Range = horizontal displacement: x = vxt
−2(229)
𝑡=
−10
x = (328 m/s)(45.8 s) = 15022.4 m = 15.0224 km = 9.32 miles
𝑡 = 45.8 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠

Map of Grand Rapids

To determine the height, use the equation
vf2 = vi2 + 2ad

−𝑣𝑖2
𝑑= (equation for max. height)
2𝑎

−2292
𝑑= = 2622.05 m = 2.62205 km = 1.63 miles
2(−10)

1.63 miles
About 7 Empire State Buildings

4.5 miles
5. A basketball is held over head at a height of 2.4 m.
The ball is lobbed to a teammate at 8 m/s at an angle of
40° (6.13 m/s horizontally and 5.14 m/s vertically). If the
ball is caught at the same height it was tossed at, how far
away is the teammate?
5. A basketball is held over head at a height of 2.4 m.
The ball is lobbed to a teammate at 8 m/s at an angle of
40° (6.13 m/s horizontally and 5.14 m/s vertically). If the
ball is caught at the same height it was tossed at, how far
away is the teammate?

Type 2 problem, similar to the battleship problem.

𝑇𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒,
𝑤𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒. Range = horizontal displacement:
Shortcut equation: x = vxt
−2𝑣𝑖
𝑡=
𝑎
x = (6.13 m/s)(1.028 s) = 6.3 m
−2(5.14)
𝑡=
−10

𝑡 = 1.028 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
6. A hunter aims directly at a target (on the same level)
140 m away. If the bullet leaves the gun at a speed of 280
m/s, by how much will the bullet miss the target?

d
6. A hunter aims directly at a target (on the same level)
140 m away. If the bullet leaves the gun at a speed of 280
m/s, by how much will the bullet miss the target?

d
𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 𝑡
140 = (280) 𝑡
140
𝑡= = 0.5 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
280
1
To find “d”, we need to use the equation 𝑑 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑡 + 2 𝑎𝑡 2 , where 𝑣𝑖 = 0

d = ½ at2
d = ½ (-10)(.5)2= -1.25 m
7. A ball is thrown horizontally from the roof of a
building 50 m tall and lands 45 m from the base. What
was the ball’s initial speed?

50 m

45 m
Determine how long it takes to hit the ground.
2𝑑 2(−50)
𝑡= = = 3.16 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
𝑎 −10

Using horizontal displacement equation x = vx t to find the

original horizontal velocity.

𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 𝑡

45 = 𝑣𝑥 3.16

45
𝑣𝑥 = = 14.2 𝑚/𝑠
3.16
8. A bullet traveling 800 m/s horizontally hits a target
180 m away. How far does the bullet fall before it hits the
target?

x = 180 m

vx = 800 m/s
d
 1 2
𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 𝑡 𝑑 = 𝑎𝑡
2
180 = 800𝑡 1
180 𝑑 = −10 (0.225)2
𝑡= = 0.225𝑠 2
800 𝑑 = −0.25𝑚
9. A student threw a ball horizontally out of a window 8
m above the ground. It was caught by another student
who was 10.0 m away. What was the initial velocity of
the ball?
9. A student threw a ball horizontally out of a window
8.0 m above the ground. It was caught by another
student who was 10.0 m away. What was the initial
velocity of the ball?

2𝑑 2(8)
𝑡= = = 1.26 𝑠
𝑔 10

𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 𝑡

𝑥 10 𝑚
𝑣𝑥 = = = 7.91
𝑡 1.26 𝑠
10. A baseball was hit at 45 m/s (31.8 m/s horizontally
and 31.8 m/s vertically) at an angle of 45° above the
horizontal.
a. How long did it remain in the air?
b. How far did it travel horizontally?

x=?
10. A baseball was hit at 45 m/s (31.8 m/s horizontally
and 31.8 m/s vertically) at an angle of 45° above the
horizontal.
a. How long did it remain in the air?
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒,
−2𝑣𝑖
𝑡=
𝑎
−2(31.8)
𝑡= = 6.36 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
−10
10. A baseball was hit at 45 m/s (31.8 m/s horizontally
and 31.8 m/s vertically) at an angle of 45° above the
horizontal.
b. How far did it travel horizontally?

𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 𝑡
𝑥 = 31.8 6.36
𝑥 = 202 𝑚