Question

Why is a baseball thrown by a pitcher considered to have projectile motion?

It gains a lot of kinetic energy.
It has horizontal and vertical motion.
It gets pulled to the ground by gravity.
It moves in a diagonal direction.

Answer 1

It has a horizontal and vertical motion would be correct. Horizontal and vertical are projectiles.

Answer 2

It has horizontal and vertical motion.

Step-by-step explanation:

A projectile is an object which moves in a parabolic path consisting of two independent motions:

- a horizontal motion, which is a uniform motion with constant speed

- a vertical motion, which is an accelerated motion with constant acceleration
`g=-9.81 m/s^2` directed towards the ground

In this case, the baseball has exactly this kind of motion, so it can be considered to be a projectile.