Question

A woman throws a baseball from the back of an airplane to the front. From the perspective of the woman, the baseball travels at an average speed of 20 m/s. To an observer on the ground, the airplane is traveling at a constant speed of 820 km/h. What is the speed of the baseball from the perspective of the ground observer?

Answer 1

The speed of the baseball from the perspective of the ground observer is 247.8 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the speed of the baseball from the perspective of the ground observer, we need to take into account the velocity of the airplane and the velocity of the baseball from the woman's perspective. The ground observer sees the baseball moving with the velocity of the airplane plus the velocity of the baseball relative to the airplane. The velocity of the airplane is converted from km/h to m/s by dividing it by 3.6. Therefore, the speed of the baseball from the perspective of the ground observer is equal to the velocity of the airplane in m/s plus the velocity of the baseball relative to the airplane.

Let's calculate it:

Velocity of the airplane = 820 km/h ÷ 3.6 = 227.8 m/s

Speed of the baseball from the perspective of the ground observer = 227.8 m/s + 20 m/s = 247.8 m/s.