The villain (pick your favorite) has just dropped an innocent bystander from this very tall building in order to distract the hero (pick your favorite) and make a getaway. The building is high enough for a person to reach terminal velocity. 

With just one story to go our hero swoops in and catches the bystander and sets (him or her) down onto the sidewalk perfectly at rest.

How much force would it take to bring the bystander to a rest over that distance, and would the bystander be able to survive that?

Step 1 - Draw A Picture

Make sure to label everything that seems important. Make one informal picture and then off to the side draw a free body diagram of the bystander that represents the forces present while the hero is bringing him or her to a stop.

 

Step 2 - Knowns and Unknowns

Below is a list of information that you will need to look up or make an assumption about in order to solve the problem. Reference/cite all information you look up, justify all information that you are making assumptions about.

 

Bystander Mass (kg): 

 

Height of one story (m):

 

Person's Terminal Velocity (m/s):

 

Give a definition for what terminal velocity means:

 

Your unknown is (unit?):

Step 3 - Equations

List out the equations that you think will help you solve this problem. Your equations will introduce some new unknowns that should cancel out when you are working through step 4.

Step 4 - Solve Symbolically First

Rearrange the equations you listed in step 3 to come up with one equation that will give you the answer that you are looking for, and then plug in the known quantities and find your unknown.

Step 5 - Check Your Answer

What was the acceleration?

What was the force used?

Explain what g-force is:

Calculate how many g's the person would be decelerated at:

Does this seem reasonable? What are you basing this on? Is it survivable?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Step 1 Imagine the scenario Draw a picture of the person descending in a harness attached to a controlled lowering mechanism On the side draw a freebo... View the full answer