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Craig asked in Science & MathematicsPhysics · 1 decade ago

How fast is an object traveling when it hits the ground if it falls from a height of 16 feet?

The item is my cat, who has a tendency to jump from high places, which kind of freaks me out.

17 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Okay... 16 feet = 4.8768 meters.

    Vf^2 = Vo^2 + 2AD

    Vf^2 = 2*9.8*4.8768

    Vf^2 = 95.585

    Vf = 9.78 m/s

    So, 9.78 m/s, or about 22 miles per hour, neglecting air resistance. In practice, figure about 20 miles per hour.

  • 1 decade ago

    I don't think that is high enough to gain much velocity...so I guess the standard 32 feet per second would apply. Most cats can handle a two story fall, once in a while. Provided they are in good health. Dogs on the otherhand typically cannot.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    (v1)^2 = (v0)^2 + 2ad

    I assume she starts the fall from rest, so:

    v1 = (0 + 2*32*16)^1/2

    velocity (hitting the ground) = 32 feet/sec

    32 [feet] / [sec] * 1 [mile] / 5280 [feet] * 3600 [sec] / 1 [hour]

    =22 miles / hour

    About how fast I was going down a hill and around a corner on my road bike when I crashed. A few serious scrapes, and I'm sure your cat is a lot better on her toes than I.

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    Isaac Newton's answer to this replaced into as follows: on the single hand, the heavier rock feels an enhanced pull (downward) than the gentle rock; yet on the different hand, the heavier rock _resists_ that pull greater effective than the gentle rock does. The "resistance to drag", additionally talked approximately as inertia, is using the heavy rock's greater mass. The greater effective pull precisely "cancels" the greater effective resistance to being pulled; so the heavy rock finally ends up falling on a similar fee as a results of fact the lighter rock. in the previous Newton replaced into born, Galileo had a great greater stylish explanation: assume you're taking 2 bricks, each and every weighing a million pound, and drop them from a tall development. somewhat you're able to assume them to hit the floor on a similar time (say, 3 seconds), precise? so a methods, so good. Now, assume you carry those bricks jointly so they are touching one yet another, then you definately drop them lower back. it may nonetheless take 3 seconds, precise? after all, it won't make any distinction no count if the bricks are touching or they seem to be a million foot aside. ok, so now say you tie the two bricks alongside with slightly string, and then drop them. could it no longer nonetheless take 3 seconds? after all, what distinction could the string make? yet now observe: Your "2 bricks tied jointly" is rather a similar component as ONE brick that weighs 2 kilos. that could desire to intend that a 2 pound brick could fall in 3 seconds--comparable to a a million-pound brick. In different words, the load of the brick would not make any distinction. All bricks fall on a similar fee. related to air friction: sure, air friction does make a distinction. Air friction produces an upward stress that counteracts gravity. And it relies upon on the form and velocity of the falling merchandise, so it acts on distinctive gadgets in distinctive methods. the end result's that gadgets that are very great and/or very dense tend to fall quicker than gadgets that are very small and/or have a low density.

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  • 1 decade ago

    Use the formula V V = 2 g H.

    V V = 2x 32 x 16 = 32 X 32

    V = 32 ft/s.

  • 1 decade ago

    The rate of excelleration for a falling object with earth as the gravity well is 16 feet per second per second (16/sec/sec). In other words the first 16 feet is travelled in one second, at the end of the next second, the velocity has increased to 16 plus 16 feet per second (32 feet per second) at the end of the third second, 48 feet per second ....so your cat would be travelling 16 feet per second at the sixteenth foot of his fall. hmmm 11 miles per hour (16 times 3600 seconds divided by 5280 feet equals miles per hour)

    Ten pound cat at 16 feet per second (160 pound feet seconds or 160/550= .2909.... horse power)

  • 1 decade ago

    Well it would actually depend on the aerodynamics of your cat. If you imagine a feather and a lead weight both falling 16 feet, they would obviously hit the ground at different speeds.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    10.9 mph

    The initial velocity of the cat would be zero and it would accelerate at a constant increasing velocity until it reached a speed of 32f/s, so after one second the cat would have fallen 32 feet. But the cat fell 16 feet which is one half this distance so therefor it would be falling at the rate of 16f/s or 10.9 mph.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    16 feet = 4.87 metres

    Speed when the cat hits the ground (due to a complicated physics equation) = sqrt(2 x 9.81 x 4.87)

    = 9.77 metres per second

    = 22 miles per hour.

    And it will actually be even slower than that due to drag and air resistance. Your cat will be fine.

  • 1 decade ago

    Assuming your cat weighs 7 pounds here is the equation....

    16/7*10=22.85714

    So about 23 miles per hour.

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