A steel ball is dropped from a building's roof and passes a window of lenght 10 m, taking 1 s to fall from the top of the window to the bottom of the window. It then falls onto a sidewalk and bounces back past the window, moving from bottom to top in 1 s. Assume that the upward flight is an exact reverse of the fall. The time the ball spends below the bottom of the window is 2 s. How tall is the building?
31.25 m
BC is the window. When the ball falls from B to C.
s=−10 m,
a=−10 m/s2,
t=1 s
Using
s=ut+12at2
⇒−10=u(1)+12(−10)(1)2
⇒−10=u−5
⇒u=−5m/s
∴Velocity at B=−5 m/s
Velocity at C=u+at=−5−10(1)=−15 m/s
Time for CD is 1 s
∴ CD=s =ut+12at2
⇒−15(1)+12(−10)(1)2=−15−5=20 m
∴ CD=20 m
To find AB
Using,
v2=u2+2as
⇒(−5)2=0+2(−10)(s)
⇒25=0−20s
⇒s=−2520=−54=−1.25 m ∴AB=1.25 m
∴ Total height =AB+BC+CD=1.25+10+20=31.25 m