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Physics Puzzle #4 Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

Phyzicist: After threatening to put this one to rest, today was the day! I was out doing maintenance on some other caches and thought I would stop here on my way and pick up the container.

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Hidden : 11/29/2016
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

This is the fourth of a series of nine puzzles based on Kinematics or the study of motion.

Congratulations to denjoa for FTF honours!


This series of caches is reaching the end of its run.

I will be archiving them in August 2022

It is recommended, but not necessary, that you complete the puzzles in order as each puzzle will have an increasing level of difficulty. The puzzles in the series are

Physics Puzzle #1 (GC6XBGC)

Physics Puzzle #2 (GC6XDN0)

Physics Puzzle #3 (GC6XDXM)

Physics Puzzle #4 (GC6XK5Q)

Physics Puzzle #5 (GC6XMW4)

Physics Puzzle #6 (GC6XP3J)

Physics Puzzle #7 (GC6XXY3)

Physics Puzzle #8 (GC6XY1H)

Physics Puzzle #9 (GC6XY50)

The Lesson

As in the first puzzle, you will have to be able to identify the physical quantities from a problem. You will be able to recognize these from the wording of the problem or from the units.

This time, we are only going to consider distance, speed, and time for things that are moving at a constant speed. The relationship amongst these quantities is given by the basic formula d=vt.

d is distance and it is usually measured in metres (m)

v is speed and it is usually measured in metres per second (m/s)

t is time and it is usually measured in seconds (m/s)

Out of habit, I always show my work when solving problems but you are not getting marks for it! I also have to show my work because I can no longer remember well enough to do the entire problem in my head. Convert any units into the standard units given above.

Example using this formula:

A racecar is travelling at 85 m/s. How long would it take to travel a distance of 5 km?

v = 85 m/s; d = 5 km = 5000 m

d = vt; or t = d ÷ v

t = 5000 ÷ 85 = 59 s

It would take the car 59 s to travel 5 km.

The Puzzle

On a baseball diamond, the distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound is 18.5 m. If a pitcher is capable of throwing a ball at 38.5 m/s, how much time does it take a thrown ball to reach home plate? Round your answer to three decimal places.

0.___ ___ ___ (0.A B C)

A bullet is shot from a rifle with a speed of 720 m/s. What time is required for the bullet to strike a target 3240 m away?

___.___ (D.E)

For the same bullet as in the previous question, what is its speed in km/h?

___ ___ ___ ___ (F G H J)

A train is travelling 120 km/h. When it is 360 m from a road crossing, the engineer blows the whistle. If the speed of sound is 330 m/s, how many seconds after the whistle is heard at the crossing will the train cross there? Don't round off until you get to your final answer then, round your final answer to two decimal places.

___ . ___ ___ (K L M)

Enter the digits of your answer in the spaces provided

A = __ B = __ C = __ D = __ E = __ F = __ G = __ H = __ J = __ K = __ L = __ M = __

The cache can be found at N 44° a b. c d e’ and W 078° f g. h j k

There is no connection between the upper case letters above and the lower case letters here. Make sure that you follow BEDMAS.

a = B - E - M: _____; b = H - A: _____; c = J 0 - 1: _____;

d = (K + G) ÷ F: _____; e = (A)(F) - M: _____;

f = F J: _____; g = L (E - G): _____;

h = K - B + C - M: _____ ; j = A2 - B: _____; k = (F)(K) - (H)(J): _____.

The cache is at: N 44° __ __ . __ __ __ ' and W 078° __ __ . __ __ __'

You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Punatr gb z/f

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)