Final answer:
a) The greatest height the baseball reaches above the ground can be calculated using the formula for vertical motion. b) The horizontal component of the velocity remains constant throughout the motion and is equal to the initial horizontal velocity. c) The speed of the ball when it is caught is equal to the initial speed. d) The angle with the horizontal at which the ball leaves the bat can be calculated using the tangent of the vertical and horizontal components of the velocity.
Step-by-step explanation:
a) The greatest height the baseball reached above the ground can be calculated using the formula for vertical motion. Since the initial vertical velocity is 0 m/s (the ball was struck vertically upwards), the maximum height can be determined using the formula h = (v^2)/(2g), where h is the height, v is the initial velocity, and g is the acceleration due to gravity.
b) The horizontal component of the velocity remains constant throughout the motion and is equal to the initial horizontal velocity. The vertical component of the velocity at the instant it was struck can be calculated using the formula v = u + gt, where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and t is the time. Since the initial vertical velocity is 0 m/s and the time it took to catch the ball is 5.0 s, the vertical component of the velocity when it was struck is -5.0 * 9.8 = -49 m/s (negative sign indicates downward direction).
c) The speed of the ball when it was caught can be calculated using the formula v^2 = u^2 + 2as, where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration, and s is the displacement. Since the vertical displacement is 0 m and the acceleration due to gravity is -9.8 m/s^2 (negative sign indicates downward direction), the speed when the ball was caught is equal to the initial speed.
d) The angle with the horizontal at which the ball leaves the bat can be calculated using the formula tan(theta) = (v_y)/(v_x), where theta is the angle, v_y is the vertical component of the velocity, and v_x is the horizontal component of the velocity. The vertical component of the velocity when it was struck is -49 m/s and the horizontal component of the velocity remains constant throughout the motion, so the angle can be calculated as tan(theta) = (-49)/(v_x).