How Do You Calculate the Maximum Height of a Projectile Shot Upwards?

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In summary, the conversation discusses finding the height of a projectile shot straight up from Earth's surface at a speed of 6000 km/hr. The conversation includes the steps taken to solve the problem and different approaches to finding the answer, with the final answer being 145 km. The conversation ends with a thank you to those who helped.
  • #1
pureouchies4717
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A projectile is shot straight up from the Earth's surface at a speed of 6000 km/hr.How high does it go?

i started out by converting km/hr to m/s

so i got 6000km/hr= 1666.666666m/s

then i used this formula:

v^2=2gy

and i got:
y= 141723 m= 141.723km (i just got lucky that my answer was close)

the correct answer wass 145 km

how do you get 145? can someone please help? thanks!
 
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  • #2
A projectile is shot straight up from the Earth's surface at a speed of 6000 km/hr.How high does it go?

6000km/hr= 1666.666666m/s

So.. there's only 1 direction for velocity, the y-direction.

[tex]y = V_i t + \frac{1/2} a_g t^2[/tex]
and
[tex]V_f = V_i + a_g t[/tex]

So it's a simple kinematics problem with a kick in it if I'm doing it correctly..

So I proceed to find t=170 seconds.. Plug it in and I get 141780 meters or 141.780 km... My god o_O

My problem is that if we were talking about gravitational acceleration past the Earth, we would be given the height but... Well.. yeah o_O

It might be that they rounded... *shrugs* See if anyone else gets a better idea.
 
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  • #3
can anyone else help please? I am positive that i did it wrong and just got lucky
 
  • #4
nick727kcin said:
can anyone else help please? I am positive that i did it wrong and just got lucky

Have you covered [itex] F= { G m M \over r^2 } [/itex] ? It seems to me that at that speed, you would have to take into account the change o fthe gravitational force with distance.
 
  • #5
nick727kcin said:
can anyone else help please? I am positive that i did it wrong and just got lucky

I get 145 km using for gravitational potential enegry [itex] -G m M / r [/itex].

Pat
 
  • #6
thank you guys/girls!
 

FAQ: How Do You Calculate the Maximum Height of a Projectile Shot Upwards?

What is the formula for gravitational force?

The formula for gravitational force is F = G (m1m2)/r^2, where G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r is the distance between them.

How does distance affect gravitational force?

According to the formula for gravitational force, the force decreases as the distance between two objects increases. This means that the farther apart two objects are, the weaker the gravitational force between them will be.

What is the difference between mass and weight in relation to gravity?

Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, while weight is a measure of the force of gravity on an object. Mass does not change with location, but weight can vary depending on the strength of the gravitational force in a particular location.

How does the mass of an object affect its gravitational force?

The greater the mass of an object, the greater its gravitational force will be. This is because the force of gravity is directly proportional to the masses of the two objects involved.

What other factors can affect gravitational force?

In addition to mass and distance, the size and shape of an object can also affect gravitational force. Objects with larger surface areas or irregular shapes may experience slightly different gravitational forces compared to objects of similar mass and distance with different shapes.

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