A person jumps from a fourth-story window 15.0 m above a firefighter's safety net. The survivor stretches the net 1.0 m before coming to rest. (a) Wha

Cheyanne Leigh

Cheyanne Leigh

Answered question

2020-10-25

A person jumps from a fourth-story window 15.0 m above a firefighter's safety net. The survivor stretches the net 1.0 m before coming to rest. (a) What was the average deceleration experienced by the survivor when slowed to rest by the net? (b)What would you do to make it "safer" (that is, generate a smaller deceleration): would you stiffen or loosen the net? Explain.

Answer & Explanation

Theodore Schwartz

Theodore Schwartz

Skilled2020-10-26Added 99 answers

First, we need to know how fast the person was falling when he hit the net. We know how far he fell, so it is a simple task of determining the his velocity:
v=v0+at
which means we need to know how long he was falling:
d=v0+12at2
I will assume is initial velocity was zero. We can then solve the above equation for t: (keep in mind d is the distance he fell,and a is gravity, both of these are negative quantities so the negatives cancel)
t=2da1.75 s
plugging t into the velocity equation:
v=(9.8)(1.75)17.15 ms
Now the average deceleration can be found by taking the change in velocity over the change in time. But alas, we do not have tright off hand, so we need something else What we do know is that it took 1m to stop the person. Lets
Jeffrey Jordon

Jeffrey Jordon

Expert2021-10-06Added 2605 answers

Lets calculate speed just before hitting net

v0=2gh=2(9.8 m/s2)(15m)

v0=17.15 m/s

a) Person comes to rest in 1m

vf2vr2=2ad

02(17.15)2=2(a)(1m)

a=147 m/s2

b) a=v022d

for smaller a ,d have to be larger

so, loosen the net

Jazz Frenia

Jazz Frenia

Skilled2023-05-13Added 106 answers

Answer:
(a) The average deceleration experienced by the survivor is a=0m/s2.
(b) To make it safer and generate a smaller deceleration, we would loosen the net.
Explanation:
(a) Average deceleration experienced by the survivor:
We can use the kinematic equation that relates acceleration (a), initial velocity (v₀), final velocity (v), and displacement (s):
v2=v02+2as
In this case, the survivor starts from rest (v₀ = 0 m/s), comes to rest (v = 0 m/s), and the displacement is given as 1.0 m (s = 1.0 m).
Plugging in these values, the equation becomes:
02=0+2a(1.0)
Simplifying the equation, we find:
0=2a
Therefore, the average deceleration experienced by the survivor is a=0m/s2.
(b) Making it 'safer':
To generate a smaller deceleration and make it safer, we need to increase the time it takes for the survivor to come to rest. This can be achieved by increasing the distance over which the net stretches. Therefore, we need to loosen the net.
Andre BalkonE

Andre BalkonE

Skilled2023-05-13Added 110 answers

(a) To find the average deceleration experienced by the survivor when slowed to rest by the net, we can use the kinematic equation:
vf2=vi2+2aΔx
Here, vf is the final velocity (which is 0 m/s since the survivor comes to rest), vi is the initial velocity, a is the average deceleration, and Δx is the displacement.
The initial velocity of the survivor can be found using the equation for free fall:
vi=2gh
where g is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8m/s2) and h is the height.
Plugging in the values, we have:
vi=2·9.8·15.0=29417.146m/s
Now we can solve for the average deceleration (a):
0=(17.146)2+2a(1.0)
Simplifying the equation:
0=294+2a
2a=294
a=2942=147m/s2
Therefore, the average deceleration experienced by the survivor when slowed to rest by the net is 147m/s2.
(b) To make it 'safer' and generate a smaller deceleration, we would need to loosen the net. A looser net would provide more give and stretch, increasing the time over which the deceleration occurs. This would result in a smaller average deceleration and reduce the impact force experienced by the survivor.
Mr Solver

Mr Solver

Skilled2023-05-13Added 147 answers

Step 1:
(a) To find the average deceleration experienced by the survivor when slowed to rest by the net, we can use the kinematic equation:
vf2=vi2+2aΔx
where:
vf is the final velocity (0 m/s as the person comes to rest),
vi is the initial velocity (which we need to find),
a is the average deceleration,
and Δx is the distance stretched by the net (1.0 m).
The initial velocity can be calculated using the equation:
vi=vf22aΔx
Since the person jumps from a fourth-story window, we can assume the initial velocity is zero.
vi=022a·15.0
Simplifying further:
0=2a·15.0
Dividing both sides by -30:
0=a·15.0
Therefore, a=0m/s2.
The average deceleration experienced by the survivor when slowed to rest by the net is 0m/s2.
Step 2:
(b) We must lessen the average deceleration that the survivor experiences in order to make it 'safer' and produce a smaller deceleration. This can be achieved by loosening the net. By making the net more elastic or increasing its flexibility, it will stretch more and provide a gentler deceleration to the survivor, reducing the impact force.
Therefore, to make it safer and generate a smaller deceleration, we would loosen the net.

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