Question

You're conducting a physics experiment on another planet. You drop a rock from a height of 2.1 m and it hits the ground 0.6 seconds later. What is the acceleration due to gravity on this planet?

Answer 1

I tried this.

Explanation:

We can consider the relationship between initial and final conditions during the drop:

`y_f-y_i=v_it+1/2at^2`

[conventionally the positive direction will be up with respect to the surface of the planet]

with `a=`acceleration and `t=`time. The initial velocity will be zero (the stone is dropped without throwing it). So we get:

`0-2.1=cancel(0*0.6)+1/2a(0.6)^2`

rearranging:

`a=-2.1/0.18=-11.6m/s^2`

the negative sign tells us the direction (downwards) of the acceleration.