Use Newton's second law of motion to explain the statement. An athlete prefers to land on sand instead of a hard floor while taking a high jump.

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Solution

According to Newton's second law of motion,
$F = \frac{Δ p}{Δ t}$
For $Δ p = same$
$F \propto \frac{1}{Δ t}$

When a certain momentum is imparted to a body in a short interval of time, then the magnitude of the force exerted on the body is large and vice-versa.
When an athlete lands from a height on a hard floor, his feet come to rest instantaneously, so a very large force is exerted by the floor on his feet, but if he lands on sand, his feet push the sand, thereby increasing the time incurred. As a result, the force exerted on his feet decreases and he is saved from getting hurt.

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Similar questions

Use Newton's second law of motion to explain the following:
(a) A cricketer pulls his hands back while catching a fast moving cricket ball.
(b) An athlete prefers to land on sand instead of hard floor while taking a high jump.

Use Newton's second law to explain the following:

An athlete prefers to land on sand instead of a hard floor while taking a long jump.

An athlete prefers to land on sand instead of hard floor while taking a long jump. Why?

(a) Use Newton’s second law of motion to explain the following:

(i) A cricketer pulls his hands back while catching a fast moving cricket ball.

(ii) An athlete prefers to land on sand instead of hard floor while taking a high jump.

(b) A ball is thrown vertically upwards. It goes to a height of $19.6 m$ and then comes back to the ground. Find :

(i) the initial velocity of the ball,

(ii) the total time of journey, and

(iii) the final velocity of the ball when it strikes the ground.

Take $g = 9.8 m s^{- 2}$ .

APPLICATION OF SECOND LAW OF MOTION :

In high jump events, why the athlete is made to jump on a cushioned bed ?

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