Question

A stunt performer attempts a stunt that involves riding a motorcycle off a cliff. The motorcycle starts from rest and accelerates at a rate of 3.5 m/s2 . If the cliff is 40 m high and the air bag that the performer will land on is placed a distance of 32 m from the base of the cliff, how far back from the edge of the cliff must the performer start? In order to coordinate a pyrotechnic display with the landing, determine the total amount of time between the motorcycle starting and the performer hitting the landing site.

Answer 1

Once he leaves the cliff, he will have a constant velocity. The distance he will travel horizontally will be equal to this velocity multiplied by the time he is in the air for.

This is his time of flight. Now, we can find the velocity he will require at the end of the cliff.

To achieve this velocity in a given distance with a constant acceleration, we will use another formula.