J. van Baardwijk wrote:
>
>The Case
>--------
>James Bond is in an airplane over the Atlantic Ocean; the plane is flying
>at an altitude of 8,000 meters above sea level. James jumps out to land on
>a small island, but unfortunately his parachute fails (d'oh!). For 007,
>this means 8,000 meters of free fall before he plunges into the ocean.
>
Well, it's not _free fall_, because the resistance of the air slows him down.
>The Questions
>-------------
>1. What is James' speed (in meters per second) when he hits the water? You
>may assume that his initial speed (at the moment he leaves the airplane) is
>0.00 meters per second.
>
Not enough data. He will be in the terminal speed [there's no way he would
be falling with free fall's supersonic speed of sqrt(2 g h) = 400 m/s], but
the calculation of the terminal speed depends on his arm/leg position, and
on many other factors, like his clothes, etc.
>2. Once James is under water, the water will slow him down. At how many
>meters below the surface will his speed reach 0.00 m/s?
>
Again, not enough data - but he would probably sink forever. AFAIK, the
density of a living human being is bigger than the density of water.
BTW, this is not a _Math_ Challenge, this is a Physics Challenge :-)
Alberto Monteiro
