Question

How many foot-pounds of work does it take to throw a baseball 90 mph? a baseball weighs 5 oz, or 0.3125 lb?

Answer 1

Kinetic energy of the ball is (mv²) / 2, where m is the mass and v is the velocity

So plugging in the mass and the velocity into the kinetic energy expression, you get:

Kinetic energy of the ball = (mv²) / 2

(0.3125/32) times (132)² divided by 2 = 85 ft-lbs

Kinetic energy of the ball = 85 ft-lbs