Problem 2 - long jump

A long jumper leaves the ground with an initial velocity of 9 m/s at an angle of 35⁰  to the Earth's surface. Calculate the horizontal distance of the long-jumper.

Solution:

Given are:

v₀ = 10 m/s 

α = 35⁰  

Unknown quantity:

D_h = ??

 

We use Eq. M2.10 from the Ch. M2.1, but the horizontal distance we denote D_h.

 

First we check the dimensions,

 

[D_h] = (m/s)² / (m/s²) = (m²/s²) * (s² / m) = m 

which is correct.

Substituting the numbers we find

D_h = 7.75 m

Which is not a shocking result if compared to the world record of 8.95 m held by Mike Powell (Tokyo 1991), but a little better than women’s world record of 7.52 m held by Galina Chistyakova (Leningrad, now St. Petersburg 1988).

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