Let's return to the case of the woman who was pushed off a high cliff and use that to look a little more closely at the physics involved in forensic analysis. From the description of this case in the first lesson of this unit, we know that:

• The woman was standing on a cliff 30 meters above where she landed.
• There was a safety fence 4 meters from the cliff edge that would have prevented her from taking a long distance to run and leap off the cliff.
• She landed 12 meters away from the base of the cliff.
• Her launch speed was calculated to be 4.86 m/s, meaning that to travel those 12 meters, she had to be traveling at 10.87 miles per hour (or moving faster than a runner at a 5.5 minute mile pace) as she left the cliff.

1. Put all this information together. Why did forensic scientists determine that the woman's body was thrown instead of concluding that she jumped off the cliff?

Next, go to the Projectile Simulator Interactive. Here you will find a simulator that we can use to recreate the scene.

1. There are three sliding toggles for height, angle, and speed. Slide the toggles to approximate:
   • The woman's speed as she left the cliff (use launch speed)
   • The angle she left the cliff (let's assume she stepped straight off without jumping or diving)
   • The height the woman was off the ground before she fell
2. Now let's put this information together for a new case. You are at a swimming pool investigating a drowning incident. The victim was found at the bottom of the pool, below the 10-meter diving platform. The diving platform is 6 meters long; let's say it could be possible for this victim to reach a speed of 6 m/s if they were launching themselves off the diving platform. Use the simulator to calculate the x-intercept. Screenshot your work. Then explain what conclusion you would make if you found the body farther from the diving platform than your result. What about if it was nearer than your result?
3. One more case: You are outside an apartment building where a passerby was struck and killed by a potted plant falling from a fifth-story window. The window in question is 22 meters above the sidewalk. The victim's body is 2 meters from the base of the building. If the potted plant was accidentally knocked out of the window, what might you expect a reasonable speed to be? Use the simulator to try out your estimate. Screenshot your work and check if your x-intercept is close to the distance of the victim's body. Write an explanation for whether you think it is more likely that the victim was murdered or if a cat accidentally nudged the plant off the window.