High School

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/second[tex]\(^2\)[/tex], how far above the ground ([tex]h[/tex]) was the hammer when you dropped it? Use the formula:

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

A. 1.0 foot
B. 16.0 feet
C. 8.0 feet
D. 20 feet

Answer :

To find the height from which the hammer was dropped, we can use the formula:

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

Here:
- [tex]\( v \)[/tex] is the final velocity (8 feet per second).
- [tex]\( g \)[/tex] is the acceleration due to gravity (32 feet/second²).
- [tex]\( h \)[/tex] is the height above the ground (what we're trying to find).

Let's rearrange the formula to solve for [tex]\( h \)[/tex]:

1. Square both sides to remove the square root:
[tex]\[ v^2 = 2gh \][/tex]

2. Substitute the given values for [tex]\( v \)[/tex] and [tex]\( g \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ 8^2 = 2 \times 32 \times h \][/tex]

3. Calculate [tex]\( 8^2 \)[/tex], which is 64:
[tex]\[ 64 = 64h \][/tex]

4. Divide both sides by 64 to solve for [tex]\( h \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ h = \frac{64}{64} \][/tex]

5. Simplify the right side:
[tex]\[ h = 1 \][/tex]

Therefore, the hammer was dropped from a height of 1.0 foot. So, the correct answer is A. 1.0 foot.