PHYSICS REVIEW QUESTION- I just need help walking through it

Question

A baseball pitcher throws a baseball at 40.3 m/s. To throw the ball, the pitcher exerts a constant force resulting in an acceleration in the horizontal direction over a distance of 1.85m. The baseball has a mass of 145.4 g. What is the net force acting on the baseball during the pitch?

Answer 1

Since we are solving for the force exerted on the ball, we can use Newton's 2nd Law that equates force and acceleration:

F = ma

So, to calculate the force, we need to calculate the acceleration. Since it is constant acceleration, we can use one of the kinematic equations of motion for constant acceleration.

We know the initial velocity (v_i), which is zero. We know the final velocity (v_f), which is 40.3 m/s. We know the distance the acceleration occurs (1.85 m) so we can use the equation:

v_f² = v_i² + 2ax

(40.3)² = 0² + 2a(1.85)

1624.09 = 3.7a

a = 1624.09/3.7 = 438.94 m/s²

Now, we can use F = ma but mass must be converted into kg. (0145.4 g)/(1000 g/kg) = 0.1454 kg

F = ma

F = (0.1454)(438.94) = 63.822 N or, rounding to 3 sig figs, F = 63.8 N