A57 kg skier starts from rest at a height of h = 27 m above the end of the ski-jump ramp. as the skier leaves the ramp, his velocity makes an angle of 28° with the horizontal. neglect the effects of air resistance and assume the ramp is frictionless.

(a) what is the maximum height h of his jump above the end of the ramp?
(b) if he increased his weight by putting on a backpack, would h then be greater, less or, the same?

(a)

(b) h is the same

Explanation:

According to the law of conservation of energy:

The skier starts from rest, so and we choose the zero point of potential energy in the end of the ramp, so . We calculate the final speed, that is, the speed when the skier leaves the ramp:

Finally, we calculate the maximum height h above the end of the ramp:

The initial vertical speed is given by:

and the final speed is zero, solving for h:

(b) We can observe that the height reached does not depend on the mass of the skier