An object is dropped from a 32 m building and strikes the ground with a speed of 31m/s . How tall is the building ?

Question

anonymous · Answer

what is the acceleration?

anonymous · Answer

Gravity should equal 9.8

anonymous · Answer

ok so i recommend you write down what is given, look at the 3 formulas and play around with what is given and what you need

anonymous · Answer

the math in physics is basic, its the process that requires a bit of thinking

anonymous · Answer

$$mgh = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$$

anonymous · Answer

Eightforlunch can you please explain the equation is I never used it before and I don't know what it means ?

anonymous · Answer

jk_16 what equation do you think I should use . Can you please break it down in steps if you can ?

btaylor · Answer

@chelster your question asks for the height of the building. It says in the problem that the building is 32 m tall. Then, isn't the height of the building intuitively obvious?

fellowroot · Answer

32m

anonymous · Answer

mass*gravity*height=1/2*mass*final velocity squared. This is the conservation of energy. In other words, potential energy mgh, in joules, is equal to kinetic energy, 1/2mv^2, also in joules. Plug in the numbers you have, and holy crap, I just realized @BTaylor has a point. I don't think we're working with the original problem here...