Problem 70PE Construct Your Own Problem Consider an airplane headed for a runway in a cross wind. Construct a problem in which you calculate the angle the airplane must fly relative to the air mass in order to have a velocity parallel to the runway. Among the things to consider are the direction of the runway, the wind speed and direction (its velocity) and the speed of the plane relative to the air mass. Also calculate the speed of the airplane relative to the ground. Discuss any last minute maneuvers the pilot might have to perform in order for the plane to land with its wheels pointing straight down the runway.
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Textbook Solutions for College Physics
Question
The cannon on a battleship can fire a shell a maximum distance of 32.0 km.
(a) Calculate the initial velocity of the shell.
(b) What maximum height does it reach? (At its highest, the shell is above 60% of the atmosphere—but air resistance is not really negligible as assumed to make this problem easier.)
(c) The ocean is not flat, because the Earth is curved. Assume that the radius of the Earth is \(6.37 \times 10^{3} km\) . How many meters lower will its surface be 32.0 km from the ship along a horizontal line parallel to the surface at the ship? Does your answer imply that error introduced by the assumption of a flat Earth in projectile motion is significant here?
Solution
Step 1 of 4
(a)
Maximum distance or the horizontal range of the shell is given. The equation for horizontal range is \(R=\frac{u^{2} \sin 2 \theta}{g} \ldots(1)\)
u = Initial velocity of the shell
\(\theta\) = angle of projection of the shell
g = acceleration due to gravity
Given data:
\(\begin{array}{l}
\mathrm{R}=32.0 \mathrm{~km} \\
\mathrm{R}=32.0 \times 1000 \mathrm{~m} \\
\mathrm{R}=32.000 \mathrm{~m} \\
g=9.8 \mathrm{~m} / \mathrm{s} 2 \\
\theta=45^{\circ}
\end{array}\)
Substitute these values in equation (1),
\(\begin{array}{l}
32,000=\frac{u^{2} \sin \left(2 \times 45^{\circ}\right)}{9.8} \\
u^{2}=32,000 \times 9.8 \\
u=560 \mathrm{~m} / \mathrm{s}
\end{array}\)
Therefore, the initial velocity of the shell is 560 m/s.
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