Final answer:
When a basketball player runs at a velocity of 4.70 m/s towards the basket and jumps to dunk the ball while maintaining horizontal velocity, the motion can be described as projectile motion. Projectile motion is the motion of an object that is launched into the air and influenced only by gravity and its initial velocity.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a basketball player runs at a velocity of 4.70 m/s towards the basket and jumps to dunk the ball while maintaining horizontal velocity, the motion can be described as projectile motion. Projectile motion is the motion of an object that is launched into the air and influenced only by gravity and its initial velocity. In this case, the player's motion can be broken down into horizontal and vertical components.
The horizontal component of the motion remains constant, as there are no external forces acting horizontally. The vertical component, on the other hand, is influenced by gravity. The player's vertical velocity will gradually decrease until it reaches a maximum height, and then it will start to decrease again as the player descends back to the ground.
Overall, the player's motion can be visualized as a curved path known as a parabolic trajectory