How far short of the target should it drop the package?

Question

A supply plane needs to drop a package of food to scientists working on a glacier in Greenland. The plane flies 160 m above the glacier at a speed of 200 m/s. How far short of the target should it drop the package?

Answer 1

s = 1/2 a t^2
320 / 9.8 = t^2
sqrt (320 / 9.8) = time

Time for package to fall 160m = 5.714 seconds.

Therefore in 5.714 seconds the plane will fly -: 1142.86 metres, so this is the distance required at which the plane will drop the package (if you ignore air resistance etc.)

Answer 2

Time for package to hit:
t= (2x/g)^0.5 = (2*160/9.8)^0.5 = 5.7 sec

Horizontal travel of package:
x = vt = 200 * 5.7 = 1100 m (to 2 sig figs)

Hey Dr Q...watch those sig figs!

Answer 3

50 feet

Answer 4

50 METTERS