Question

Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints can throw a football 23.0 m/s (50 mph). If he angles the throw at 10° from the horizontal, what distance does it go if it is to be caught at the same elevation as it was thrown?

a) 33.1 m
b) 46.7 m
c) 62.4 m
d) 78.9 m

Answer 1

Drew Brees can throw a football 33.1 meters when it is launched at a 10-degree angle with an initial speed of 23.0 m/s, as calculated using the formula for projectile motion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of the question is Projectile Motion in Physics. To find the distance a football goes when thrown at an angle, we use the formula for the range of a projectile launched at an angle θ with initial velocity v0 and caught at the same elevation as it was thrown:

R = (v0^2 × sin(2θ)) / g

Here, R is the range, v0 is the initial velocity, θ is the launch angle, and g is the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 9.81 m/s2.

In the case of Drew Brees throwing a football at 23.0 m/s at a 10° angle, the calculation would look like this:

R = (23.02 × sin(2·10°)) / 9.81

After doing the math, we find that R≈33.1 m, so the correct answer is (a) 33.1 m.