A hawk is flying horizontally at 18.0 m/s in a straight line, 230 m above the ground. A mouse it has been carrying struggles free from its grasp. The hawk continues on its path at the same speed for 2.00 s before attempting to retrieve its prey. To accomplish the retrieval, it dives in a straight line at constant speed and recaptures the mouse 3.00 m above the ground. (a) Assuming no air resistance, find the diving speed (magnitude of the total velocity vector) of the hawk. (b) What angle did the hawk make with the horizontal during its descent? (c) For how long did the mouse "enjoy" free fall?

a) vd = 47.88 m/s

b) θ = 80.9°

c) t = 6.8 s

Explanation:

In the situation of the problem, you can assume that the trajectory of the hawk and the trajectory of the mouse form a rectangle triangle.

One side of the triangle is the horizontal trajectory of the hawk after 2.00s of flight, the other side of the triangle is the distance traveled by the mouse when it is falling down. And the hypotenuse is the trajectory of the hawk when it is trying to recover the mouse.

(a) In order to calculate the diving speed of the hawk, you first calculate the hypotenuse of the triangle.

One side of the triangle is c1 = (18.0m/s)(2.0s) = 36m

The other side of the triangle is c2 = 230m - 3m = 227 m

Then, the hypotenuse is:

   (1)

Next, it is necessary to calculate the falling down time of the mouse, this can be done by using the following formula:

   (2)

yo: initial height = 230m

vo: initial vertical speed of the mouse = 0m/s

g: gravitational acceleration = -9.8m/s^2

y: final height of the mouse = 3 m

You replace the values of the parameters in (2) and solve for t:

The hawk traveled during 2.00 second in the horizontal trajectory, hence, the hawk needed 6.8s - 2.0s = 4.8 s to travel the distance equivalent to the hypotenuse to catch the mouse.

You use the value of h and 4.8s to find the diving speed of the hawk:

The diving speed of the Hawk is 47.88m/s

(b) The angle is given by:

Then angle between the horizontal and the trajectory of the Hawk when it is descending is 80.9°

(c) The mouse is falling down during 6.8 s

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