Question

A baseball pitcher throws a ball at 97.0 mi/h in the horizontal direction. How far does the ball fall vertically by the time it reaches home plate, which is a horizontal distance of 60.5 ft away? (Express your answer in units of feet. Neglect air resistance.)

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

1 mile=5280 ft

1 hour=3600 seconds

Changing speed from mi/h to ft/s

`97 mi/h * \frac {5280}{3600}=142.2666667 ft/s\approx 142.27 ft/s`

Time of flight,
`t=\frac {distance}{speed}=\frac {60.5}{142.27}=0.425257732 s\approx 0.425 s`

From fundamental kinematics equations

`h=0.5gt^(2)` where g is acceleration due to gravity whose value is taken as 32.2 ft/s2 and h is the distance

By substitution

`h=0.5* 32.2* 0.425^(2)=2.9080625 m\approx 2.91 m`