Question

A baseball is hit horizontally. It leaves the bat with a speed of 40 m/s. The batter hit the ball at a height of 1 m above the ground. What distance does it travel before it hits the ground?

a) 80 m
b) 20 m
c) 40 m
d) 10 m

Answer 1

The question is related to physics, specifically projectile motion, and involves determining the horizontal distance traveled by a baseball. Using the formulas for free fall and horizontal motion, we can calculate the distance by multiplying the initial speed by the time it takes for the ball to hit the ground.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is asking about the horizontal distance a baseball travels before hitting the ground when struck horizontally at a certain speed from a given height. This is a classic physics problem involving projectile motion, where the horizontal motion is independent of the vertical motion.

To solve this, we can use the formula for the time it takes an object to fall from a certain height: t = sqrt(2h/g), where h is the height and g is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s2). The baseball was hit at a height of 1 meter, therefore: t = sqrt(2*1 m/9.8 m/s2), which gives us the time it takes to hit the ground.

Using this time and the initial horizontal speed of the baseball (40 m/s), we can calculate the distance traveled by multiplying speed (v) by time (t), d = vt. Plugging in our numbers will give the answer to the problem. Since the question is multiple choice and doesn't provide complete calculations, it's important to instruct the student on how to perform these calculations to arrive at the correct choice.