Of all the animals on the planet, the peregrine falcon reaches the highest speeds. It can get to 320 km/h (nearly 90 m/s) in a dive. A particular falcon swoops down to catch a rabbit. It drops vertically from a height of 600 m to 100 m in 10 seconds.Calculate the falcon's average speed, giving units.
Question
Of all the animals on the planet, the peregrine falcon reaches the highest speeds. It can get to 320 km/h (nearly 90 m/s) in a dive. A particular falcon swoops down to catch a rabbit. It drops vertically from a height of 600 m to 100 m in 10 seconds.Calculate the falcon's average speed, giving units.
Solution
To calculate the average speed of the falcon, we need to know the total distance travelled and the total time taken.
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First, we find the total distance travelled. The falcon drops from a height of 600m to 100m. So, the total distance travelled is 600m - 100m = 500m.
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Next, we find the total time taken. The question tells us that this is 10 seconds.
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Now we can calculate the average speed. Speed is distance divided by time, so the average speed is 500m / 10s = 50 m/s.
So, the falcon's average speed is 50 meters per second.
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