Final answer:
For a basketball to travel the same distance as a baseball, the pitcher must apply a greater force to compensate for the basketball's higher mass, as described by Newton's second law of motion.
Step-by-step explanation:
To make a basketball travel the same distance as a baseball when thrown by the same pitcher, the pitcher must exert a greater force on the basketball due to its larger mass.
According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object and inversely proportional to its mass (F = ma).
Since the basketball has a mass of 625 grams compared to the baseball's 145 grams, the force applied must be proportionally greater to achieve the same acceleration and, consequently, the same distance traveled assuming other conditions like air resistance and launch angle are similar.
The kinetic energy required to throw the basketball can be considered as well. A greater amount of kinetic energy will be needed as kinetic energy is proportional to the mass of the object (KE = (1/2)mv²) and the velocity squared. Therefore, more energy needs to be transferred to the basketball during the throw to cover the same distance as the lighter baseball.