Daring Darless wishes to cross the Grand Canyon of the Snake River by being shot from a cannon. She wishes to be launched at 56° relative to the horizontal so she can spend more time in the air waving to the crowd. With what minimum speed must she be launched to cross the 520-m gap?

She must be launched with a speed of 74.2 m/s.

Explanation:

Hi there!

The equations of the horizontal component of the position vector and the vertical component of the velocity vector are the following:

x = v0 · t · cos θ

vy = v0 · sin θ + g · t

x = horizontal distance traveled at time t.

v0 = initial velocity.

t = time.

θ = launching angle.

vy = vertical component of the velocity vector at time t.

g = acceleration due to gravity (-9.8 m/s²).

To just cross the 520-m gap, the maximum height of the flight must be reached halfway of the gap at 260 m horizontally (see attached figure).

When she is at the maximum height, her vertical velocity is zero. So, when x = 260 m, vy = 0. Using both equations we can solve the system for v0:

x = v0 · t · cos θ

Solving for v0:

v0 = x/ (t · cos θ)

Replacing v0 in the second equation:

vy = v0 · sin θ + g · t

0 = x/(t·cos(56°)) · sin(56°) + g · t

0 = 260 m · tan (56°) / t - 9.8 m/s² · t

9.8 m/s² · t = 260 m · tan (56°) / t

t² = 260 m · tan (56°) / 9.8 m/s²

t = 6.27 s

Now, let's calculate v0:

v0 = x/ (t · cos θ)

v0 = 260 m / (6.27 s · cos(56°))

v0 = 74.2 m/s

She must be launched with a speed of 74.2 m/s.