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Physics: How to Find the Final Height of a Moving Object

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|  Updated:  
2023-06-28 21:02:23
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Astrophysics For Dummies
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Thanks to the principle of conservation of mechanical energy, you can use physics to determine the final height of a moving object. At this very moment, for example, suppose Tarzan is swinging on a vine over a crocodile-infested river at a speed of 13.0 meters/second. He needs to reach the opposite river bank 9.0 meters above his present position in order to be safe. Can he swing it? The principle of conservation of mechanical energy gives you the answer:

image0.png

At Tarzan’s maximum height at the end of the swing, his speed, v2, will be 0 meters/second, and assuming h1 = 0 meters — meaning that he started swinging from the same height as the tree branch he's swinging to — you can relate h2 to v1 like this:

image1.png

Solving for h2, this means that

image2.png

Tarzan will come up 0.4 meters short of the 9.0 meters he needs to be safe, so he needs some help.

About This Article

This article is from the book: 

About the book author:

Dr. Steven Holzner has written more than 40 books about physics and programming. He was a contributing editor at PC Magazine and was on the faculty at both MIT and Cornell. He has authored Dummies titles including Physics For Dummies and Physics Essentials For Dummies. Dr. Holzner received his PhD at Cornell.