Question

A baseball is thrown by the center-fielder (from shoulder level) to home plate where it is caught (on the fly at shoulder level) by the catcher. At what point is the ball's horizontal speed at a minimum? (Air resistance is negligible.)

Answer 1

The ball's horizontal speed is at a minimum when it reaches the peak of its trajectory before it starts falling back down.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, the ball's horizontal speed is at a minimum when it reaches the peak of its trajectory. At this point, the vertical component of the ball's velocity is zero, and only the horizontal component is present. This means that the ball is not accelerating horizontally and therefore its horizontal speed remains constant.

An example that illustrates this concept is when you throw a ball straight up in the air. At the highest point of its trajectory, the ball's horizontal speed will be at its minimum because it is not moving horizontally anymore before it starts falling back down.

Thus, when the baseball is caught by the catcher at home plate, its horizontal speed is at a minimum.

Answer 2

The horizontal speed of a baseball thrown from the outfield to home plate remains constant throughout its flight if air resistance is negligible, so it does not reach a minimum speed at any point.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to the horizontal speed of a baseball thrown by a center-fielder to home plate. In the absence of air resistance, the horizontal component of the baseball's velocity remains constant from the time it is thrown until it is caught.

Since there are no horizontal forces acting on the ball (assuming air resistance is negligible), the horizontal speed of the ball remains the same during its flight, adhering to Newton's first law of motion.

Therefore, the ball's horizontal speed is at a minimum at no point in its trajectory; it remains constant until caught by the catcher.

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