document.write( "Question 631807: A squirrel is running along a branch 144 feet above ground dislodges a pine cone. After how many seconds does the pine cone land on the ground? (assume no branches interfere with its fall).\r
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Algebra.Com's Answer #397969 by KMST(5328) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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As the pine cone falls, its downwards velocity increases linearly (starting from zero) at an acceleration of 32 ft/s^2 (32 ft per second every second).
\n" ); document.write( "In general, acceleration is represented by the letter $\"a\"$ .
\n" ); document.write( "(The acceleration due to gravity on the surface of planet Earth is often represented by the letter $\"g\"$ , and we know it is $\"g=3.2\"$ $\"ft%2Fs%5E2\"$ ).
\n" ); document.write( "The distance $\"d\"$ traveled by an object starting at rest and accelerating at a constant acceleration $\"a\"$ for a time $\"t\"$ is given by
\n" ); document.write( " $\"d=at%5E2%2F2\"$
\n" ); document.write( "In this case, $\"d=gt%5E2%2F2\"$
\n" ); document.write( "We know $\"d=144\"$ $\"feet\"$ , we know $\"g=3.2\"$ $\"ft%2Fs%5E2\"$ ), and we want to know $\"t\"$ , which we will get in seconds.
\n" ); document.write( "We can substitute first to get
\n" ); document.write( " $\"144=32t%5E2%2F2\"$ and then solve.
\n" ); document.write( " $\"144=32t%5E2%2F2\"$ --> $\"144%2A2=32t%5E2\"$ --> $\"144%2A2%2F32=t%5E2\"$ --> $\"9=t%5E2\"$
\n" ); document.write( "The solution that makes sense (we do not expect a negative time) is
\n" ); document.write( " $\"t=sqrt%289%29\"$ --> $\"t=3\"$ --> $\"highlight%28t=3%29\"$ seconds. \n" ); document.write( "

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