Calculating Time of Flight for a Skipping Rock

How can we determine the time it will take for a skipping rock to hit the water again?

Given that a boy skips a rock with a velocity of 3.5m/s at an angle of 40.0 degrees, what calculations do we need to make to find the time of flight for the rock?

Calculation of Time of Flight for the Skipping Rock

To calculate the time it will take for the skipping rock to hit the water again, we can use the formula for the time of flight of a projectile.

A skipping rock is considered a projectile when it is thrown in a certain direction at an angle. The time of flight of a projectile can be calculated using the formula: T = 2UsinΦ/g

Time of Flight of Projectile

  • u = velocity of the stone = 3.5 m/s
  • Φ = angle of projection = 40.0°
  • g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s²

By substituting the values of the variables into the equation, we can calculate the time of flight as follows:

T = 2 × 3.5 m/s × sin40.0° / 9.8 m/s²

T ≈ 0.46 s

Therefore, it will take approximately 0.46 seconds for the skipping rock to hit the water again.

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