College

You are helping with some repairs at home. You drop a hammer, and it hits the floor at a speed of 8 feet per second. If the acceleration due to gravity ([tex]g[/tex]) is 32 feet/second², how far above the ground ([tex]h[/tex]) was the hammer when you dropped it? Use the formula:

[tex]v=\sqrt{2gh}[/tex]

A. 2.0 feet
B. 1.0 foot
C. 8.0 feet
D. 16.0 feet

Answer :

To find out how far above the ground the hammer was when you dropped it, we can use the given formula for velocity:

[tex]\[ v = \sqrt{2gh} \][/tex]

We need to solve this equation for [tex]\( h \)[/tex]. Let's go through the steps:

1. First, square both sides of the equation to get rid of the square root:

[tex]\[ v^2 = 2gh \][/tex]

2. We know the velocity ([tex]\( v \)[/tex]) when the hammer hits the ground is 8 feet per second, and the acceleration due to gravity ([tex]\( g \)[/tex]) is 32 feet per second squared. Substitute these values into the equation:

[tex]\[ 8^2 = 2 \times 32 \times h \][/tex]

3. Calculate [tex]\( 8^2 \)[/tex]:

[tex]\[ 64 = 64h \][/tex]

4. To find [tex]\( h \)[/tex], divide both sides of the equation by 64:

[tex]\[ h = \frac{64}{64} \][/tex]

5. Simplify the right-hand side:

[tex]\[ h = 1 \][/tex]

Therefore, the hammer was 1.0 foot above the ground when you dropped it. So the correct answer is:

B. 1.0 foot