SOLUTION: A parachutist falling vertically at a constant speed of 10 m/s drops a penknife when 20 m above the ground. What is the speed of the knife just before it reaches the ground?? Show

Question 896934: A parachutist falling vertically at a constant speed of 10 m/s drops a penknife when 20 m above the ground. What is the speed of the knife just before it reaches the ground?? Show your work please
Answer by richwmiller(17219) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
There is no such thing as "falling vertically at a constant speed of 10 m/s" on Earth. There is acceleration due to gravity to deal with.
Since the penknife was also accelerating with the parachutist, the parachutist and the penknife should have the same speed when they hit the ground.

RELATED QUESTIONS
a parachutist falls vertically with an uniform speed of 10m/s . At the moment when he is... (answered by Fombitz)

a photographer in helicopter ascending vertically at a constant rate of 12.5m/s... (answered by ccs2011)

A helicopter is taking off vertically when a crate slips out of the cargo door. At that... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)

A helicopter is moving up at a constant speed of 2.35 m/s when it drops a box of supplies (answered by Alan3354)

(d) A ball is thrown vertically upwards from ground level with a velocity of 28 m/s (i)... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)

A parachutist is falling from a height of 1800 feet at the rate of 15 feet per second.... (answered by ikleyn)

A hawk in level flight 135 m above the ground drops the fish it caught. If the hawk's... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)

An airplane travels east at an air speed of 410 m/s with a tail wind of 35 m/s. What is... (answered by richwmiller,Alan3354)

A parachutist jumps from an altitude of 2000m.... (answered by Theo)