Physics, motion and velocity

Question

While playing a game of "catch" on the quadrangle, you throw a ball at an initial velocity of 18.9 m/s (approximately 42.3 mi/hr), at an angle of 41.3 degrees above horizontal. The ball flies past your friend, and lands on the ground. You let the ball go at a height of 1.58 m above the ground. Define upward as the positive y direction, and the horizontal direction of the ball's travel as the positive x direction. You can assume that air resistance and any effects of the ball spinning are so small that they can be ignored; this means that gravity is the only force causing an acceleration. 

1. What is the y-component of velocity, just before the ball hits the ground? Hints: look at the y dimension; split the initial velocity into components; you can assume the height is the same as the ground; the velocity will not be zero; it may help to ask yourself if this velocity should be positive or negative; remember that taking the square root introduces a "plus or minus". 

? m/s 

2. For how much time is the ball in the air? 

? s 

3. How far horizontally does the ball travel before it hits the ground? 

? m 

4. What is the magnitude of the velocity of the ball, just before it hits the ground? Hints: remember that velocity is a vector, with x and y components. Ask yourself what the x-component of acceleration is. 

? m/s 

5. What is the angle of the total velocity of the ball, just before it hits the ground? Hint: notice the way in which the angle is defined in the answer below. 

  ? degrees clockwise from (below) the positive x axis. 

Answer 1

So Conor E.,

What part of this problem is causing you difficulty? What equations have you written down already? Show that you have done some thought, then you'll perhaps catch the eye of an "Expert" for more help!

--Cheers, --Mr. d.