AP Physics 2-D trajectory problem

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving a field goal kicker attempting to clear a 3.4m high goal post from a distance of 50m with an initial velocity of 15 m/s. The individual assisting a friend struggles to find the correct angles for the kick, initially exploring various methods including trigonometric identities and conservation of energy. After recalculating, it becomes clear that a projectile launched at 15 m/s cannot reach the required distance of 50m, regardless of the launch angle. This realization indicates that the problem may be unsolvable under the given conditions. The thread highlights the challenges of applying physics concepts to real-world scenarios.
DyslexicHobo
Messages
249
Reaction score
0
I'm not in the class, but a friend of mine asked me to help him with this problem, and I just can't figure it out! It seems like it's simple, but whenever I try to do it, I can't find a solution:

Problem statement
A field goal kicker is 50m away from the 3.4m high goal post. If he kicks it at an initial velocity of 15 m/s, then what are the two angles at which he can kick the ball to JUST clear the goal post?

What I've tried
I've tried looking at it from as many angles as possible. Right now I'm just trying to solve for one angle, and then I'll repeat the process to find the other. I've tried using trig identities (I couldn't find anything that would be helpful). I tried to use conservation of energy, but couldn't get anywhere with that. I *think* I may be on the right track now: I picked another point, x meters away from the start of kick, where the ball would be 3.4m off of the ground. I can find that the velocity at this point is 13.84 m/s by using conservation of energy, and the time it takes to traverse the distance x is .118s. Even with this information, I can't seem to find the x or y-velocity at any given time.


Here's a pic
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Blah. Looks like I had some figures wrong. A projectile launched at 15 m/s can't even traverse 50m no matter what the angle of launch is...
 
I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
Thread 'Collision of a bullet on a rod-string system: query'
In this question, I have a question. I am NOT trying to solve it, but it is just a conceptual question. Consider the point on the rod, which connects the string and the rod. My question: just before and after the collision, is ANGULAR momentum CONSERVED about this point? Lets call the point which connects the string and rod as P. Why am I asking this? : it is clear from the scenario that the point of concern, which connects the string and the rod, moves in a circular path due to the string...
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'
Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
Back
Top