Question

A boy kicks a football with an initial velocity of 25m/s at an angle of 35° above the horizontal. If we neglect air resistance, what is the magnitude of the acceleration of the ball while it is in flight?

Answer 1

The magnitude of the acceleration of a football kicked at an angle while in flight, with air resistance neglected, is 9.8 m/s², which is the constant acceleration due to gravity. This acceleration acts downward throughout the flight of the football.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question deals with the motion of a football after it has been kicked, focusing on the acceleration experienced by the ball during its flight. When neglecting air resistance, the only acceleration acting upon the football is due to gravity, which operates in the vertical direction. Even though the ball is moving in a projectile motion, the magnitude of the acceleration will be the constant free-fall acceleration, which is 9.8 m/s² downward. This value does not change regardless of the initial velocity or angle of projection.

Step-by-step explanation:

1. Identify that the only acceleration acting on the ball during its flight, while ignoring air resistance, is gravity.
2. Understand that gravity acts downwards with a constant acceleration of 9.8 m/s². This value is represented by 'g' and is negative when upwards direction is considered positive.
3. Since there's no horizontal acceleration (air resistance is ignored), the magnitude of the acceleration is simply the absolute value of the vertical acceleration due to gravity.