Tom the cat is chasing Jerry the mouse across a table surface 2 m off the ﬂoor. Jerry steps out of the way at the last second, and Tom slides off the edge of the table at a speed of 6 m/s. Where will Tom strike the ﬂoor, in terms of m?

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Answer 1 · 2015-11-09T22:14:16

At a distance of #3.84"m"# from the table.

We get the time of flight by considering Tom's vertical component of motion:

Since #u=0#:

#s=1/2"g"t^2#

#:.t=sqrt((2s)/("g"))#

#t=sqrt((2xx2)/(9.8))#

#t=0.64"s"#

Tom's horizontal component of velocity is a constant 6m/s.

So:

#s=vxxt#

#s=6xx0.64=3.84"m"#