Final answer:
A basketball player must achieve an initial velocity of approximately 4.95 m/s to leap 1.25 meters high during the starting tip-off in basketball.
Step-by-step explanation:
When answering the question of what velocity a basketball player must leave the ground to rise 1.25 m above the floor to attempt to get the ball at a tip-off, we turn to physics and specifically the principles of kinematics. Using the equation for vertical motion:
Vf^2 = Vi^2 + 2ad,
where Vf is the final velocity (0 m/s at the peak of the jump), Vi is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately -9.81 m/s^2), and d is the distance (1.25 m in this case).
By rearranging the formula to solve for Vi, the initial velocity needed to reach the height of 1.25 m, the calculation would be:
Vi = √(-2 * gravity * height),
which gives us:
Vi = √(-2 * -9.81 m/s^2 * 1.25 m) = √(24.525) = approximately 4.95 m/s.
This is the velocity at which a basketball player must dribble/bounce the ball to leave the ground to reach a height of 1.25 meters.