233k views
5 votes
A baseball player exerts a force of 100N on a ball for a distance of 0.5m as he throws it. If the ball has a mass of 0.15kg, what is its velocity as it leaves his hand?

A) -36.5m/s
B) -25.8m/s
C) 25.8m/s
D) 36.5m/s

User Paymon
by
7.3k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

Using the work-energy theorem and the formula W = force × distance, the work done on the baseball (50J) equals the change in its kinetic energy. By setting this work equal to 0.5 × mass × velocity^2 and solving for velocity, we find the baseball's velocity to be approximately 36.5 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the velocity of the baseball as it leaves the player's hand, we can use the work-energy theorem. The work done on the ball equals the change in kinetic energy. The work W done by the force can be calculated using the formula W = force × distance, where the force is 100N and the distance is 0.5m.

The kinetic energy (KE) of the ball can be given by KE = 0.5 × mass × velocity^2. Using the fact that the work done on the ball is equal to its change in kinetic energy, we can set W = KE to find the final velocity.

By calculating the work (W = 100N × 0.5m = 50J) and setting it equal to the kinetic energy, we can solve for the velocity (v). The mass (m) of the ball is 0.15kg. Therefore, v is the square root of (2 × W/m), yielding a velocity of approximately 36.5 m/s.

User Nellbryant
by
9.2k points