College

You are helping with some repairs at home. You drop a hammer and it hits the floor at a speed of 4 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{2 g h}[/tex]

A. 16.0 feet
B. 1.0 foot
C. 0.25 feet
D. 0.5 feet

Answer :

To solve this problem, we'll use the formula:

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

where [tex]\( v \)[/tex] is the velocity when the hammer hits the floor, [tex]\( g \)[/tex] is the acceleration due to gravity, and [tex]\( h \)[/tex] is the height from which the hammer was dropped.

We are given:

- [tex]\( v = 4 \)[/tex] feet per second (the speed when the hammer hits the floor)
- [tex]\( g = 32 \)[/tex] feet per second squared (the acceleration due to gravity)

We need to find [tex]\( h \)[/tex], the height.

1. Start by squaring both sides of the formula to remove the square root:

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

2. Substitute the known values [tex]\( v = 4 \)[/tex] and [tex]\( g = 32 \)[/tex] into the equation:

[tex]\[ 4^2 = 2 \times 32 \times h \][/tex]

3. Calculate [tex]\( 4^2 \)[/tex] to get 16:

[tex]\[ 16 = 2 \times 32 \times h \][/tex]

4. Multiply 2 and 32 to get 64:

[tex]\[ 16 = 64 \times h \][/tex]

5. Solve for [tex]\( h \)[/tex] by dividing both sides by 64:

[tex]\[ h = \frac{16}{64} \][/tex]

6. Simplify [tex]\(\frac{16}{64}\)[/tex] to [tex]\(\frac{1}{4}\)[/tex], which is 0.25.

Therefore, the height [tex]\( h \)[/tex] from which the hammer was dropped is 0.25 feet.

The correct answer is C. 0.25 feet.