what is the horizontal distance between the package and the helicopter when the package hits the ground?

Question

A helicopter is flying horizontally at 7.6 m/s and an altitude of 16 m when a package of emergency medical supplies is ejected horizontally backward with a speed of 14 m/s relative to the helicopter. Ignoring air resistance, what is the horizontal distance between the package and the helicopter when the package hits the ground?

Answer 1

it's a dumb trick quesiton. all you need to do is solve

d = (0.5) g* T^2

you've got d (16 m) and you've got g (9.81) so plug and chug to solve for T.

now the only thing that matters in the measurement of the distance of the box from the helicopter is the relative velocity. SO,

d = vT.

where v is the relative velocity of 14 m/s, and T is the time to fall you figured out in part one. multiply those two and you've got the horizontal distance.