tom and jerry physics question?

Question

Tom the cat is chasing Jerry the mouse across a table surface 1.4 m off the floor. Jerry steps out of the way at the last second, and Tom slides off the edge of the table at a speed of 5.1 m/s. Where will Tom strike the floor, and what velocity components will he have just before he hits? (Use a coordinate system in which up is positive.)

____m
___m/s i ___m/s j

i have no idea how to do this and what's it's asking so please help.

Answer 1

The question is asking how fast Tom is moving in the horizontal and vertical directions when he lands. It also asks how far he will land from the table. So, separate the problem into two parts-one dealing with the vertical motion, and another dealing with the horizontal motion.

Vertically:
To find the vertical component of his velocity when he hits the floor, use the equation vf^2 = vi^2 + 2ad (vi = 0 m/s, a = -9.8 m/s^2, and d = 1.4m).

In order to find out how far away he lands, you will need to find out how long he was in the air. Since Tom falls off of the table, use the equation d = (vi * t) + .5at^2 and rearrange to solve for time. (use the same variables as above) This will tell you how long it takes to hit the floor.

Horizontally:
As Tom flies through the air, his horizontal velocity will not change, so it stays at 5.1 m/s the whole time. Multiply this value by the amount of time found in the last step to find out how far he lands from the table.

Watch your negative signs when you do your calculations, and it should be pretty straightforward.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

Tom will continue to travel horizontally until he hits the floor. The hitting the floor part is the same as if he simply fell off the table.

Answer 3

I concur about the anvil. That, or an ironing board will drop out of a closet and his entire body and head will bed at the neck when it hits.

Answer 4

He wont, an anvil will fall on his head.

Answer 5

what do i look like gallileo holy moses!