Question

A baseball is launched horizontally from a height of 1.8 m. The baseball travels 0.5 m before hitting the ground. How fast is the baseball moving horizontally, rounded to

Answer 1

0.83 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

FIrst of all, we have to find the time of flight, i.e. the time the baseball needs to reach the ground. This can be done by using the equation for the vertical motion:

`h=ut+(1)/(2)gt^2`

where

h is the initial height

u = 0 is the initial vertical velocity

g = 9.8 m/s^2 is the acceleration of gravity

t is the time

Substituting h = 1.8 m and solving for t,

`t=\sqrt{(2h)/(g)}=\sqrt{(2(1.8))/(9.8)}=0.61 s`

We know that the horizontal distance travelled by the ball is

d = 0.5 m

Therefore, we can find the horizontal velocity (which is constant during the whole motion):

`v= (d)/(t)=(0.5)/(0.60)=0.83 m/s`