Woman gets Stuck on Drawbridge

 

     This week in Florida, a 55 year old woman got stuck on a drawbridge while participating in a breast cancer walk. The woman held on to the bridge, while it was fully vertical, for a full 20 minutes at a height of 22 feet! The woman was eventually rescued and is now safe.
  I was interested in this article and how it related to physics in regards to potential energy and the woman's final velocity if she were to hit the water.

Calculation of Potential Energy:

PE=mgh
•Assume mass to be: 70kg
•g= 9.8 m/s^2
•h= 22ft = 6.7m
                        PEg= 4,596.2 J


Calculation of Final Velocity:

•We know that all the PE is converted to KE at the bottom of here fall (due to conservation of energy)

•KE=1/2mv2 

• 4,596.2J= ½ (70kg) v2

v= 11.46 m/s

 

Sources: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/10/13/article-2456893-18B4F52400000578-991_634x844.jpg, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/12/woman-stuck-on-bridge_n_4091061.html