Question

You throw a tennis ball to your friend, who catches it at the same height it was released from. The ball reaches its maximum altitude:

A) At the midpoint of its trajectory
B) At the moment of release
C) At the moment of catching
D) Cannot be determined

Answer 1

The maximum altitude of the tennis ball is reached at the midpoint of its trajectory under ideal projectile motion conditions; however, if air resistance is considered, the ascent will take longer than the descent.

Step-by-step explanation:

The maximum altitude of a tennis ball thrown by a person and caught by their friend at the same height it was released from is at the midpoint of its trajectory. This is due to the symmetry of the parabolic path taken by the ball in the absence of air resistance, under the influence of gravity. Neglecting air resistance, the projectile motion would cause the ball to have a vertical velocity component that decreases on the ascent and increases on the descent at equal rates, making the ball reach maximum height halfway through its journey in both time and distance. However, if air resistance cannot be neglected, then the time to go up will be greater than the time to come down, as air resistance decelerates the ball more significantly on its way up and less on its way down.