Question

A golfer starts with the club over her head and swings it to reach maximum speed as it contacts the ball. Halfway through her swing, when the golf club is parallel to the ground, does the acceleration vector of the club head point straight down, parallel to the ground, approximately toward the golfer's shoulders, approximately toward the golfer's feet, or toward a point above the golfer's head? Explain.

Answer 1

approximately toward the golfer's feet

Step-by-step explanation:

The club head undergoes circular motion so it has a centripetal acceleration. As the speed of the club head is increasing, it also has an acceleration component pointed vertically down. Thus, the acceleration vector is pointed as described in (c)

Answer 2

approximately toward the golfer's feet

Step-by-step explanation:

The golf club experiences two accelerations. when the club is horizontal, centripetal acceleration acts on it toward the center parallel to the ground. The tangential acceleration acts towards the ground in downward direction. So when the golf club is horizontal, the acceleration vector is given by the combination of tangential and centripetal acceleration. the acceleration vector thus points in between horizontal and vertical direction . hence towards the golfer's feet.