Final answer:
After 1.5 seconds, the baseball hit with an initial upward velocity of 5 m/s will have a downward velocity of -9.715 m/s, indicating it is moving downwards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the velocity of a baseball after 1.5 seconds when it was hit with an initial upward velocity of 5 m/s. To solve for the velocity, we can use the equation of motion under constant acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2). The equation we use is v = u + at, where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration, and t is the time. Since gravity is acting downwards, we take acceleration as negative (-9.81 m/s2).
Plugging in the values, we get v = 5 m/s + (-9.81 m/s2)(1.5 s), which equals v = 5 m/s - 14.715 m/s, giving us v = -9.715 m/s. The negative sign indicates that after 1.5 seconds, the direction of velocity is downwards.