Average force exerted on a baseball

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving a baseball's interaction with a bat, specifically focusing on calculating the average force exerted on the baseball during contact. The context includes concepts of momentum, energy, and time of contact.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the average force using momentum and energy equations but expresses uncertainty about the time unit "ms" and its implications for the calculation.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively clarifying the meaning of "ms" as milliseconds, with some confirming the conversion to seconds. There is a focus on understanding SI prefixes and their application in physics, indicating a productive exploration of the problem's setup.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted uncertainty regarding the interpretation of the time unit and its proper usage in calculations, which may affect the overall approach to solving the problem.

vaibzzz123
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1. Question
A 0.145kg baseball moving horizontally at 35.0m/s strikes a bat and is popped straight up to a height of 55.6m before turning around. If the contact time is 0.50ms, calculate the average force on the ball during the contact.

Homework Equations


p=mv
Δp=mΔv=fΔt
Ek=0.5mv^2 (?)
Ep=mgh (?)

The Attempt at a Solution


pinitial=(35)(.145)=5.075 kg*m/s

I was going to use the time that was given, but I'm unsure if the "ms" unit was a typo or was written on purpose. If it was on purpose, I'm unsure how I should use it
 
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Why do you think it is a typo? What do you think "ms" means? Are you familiar with the SI prefixes?
 
Orodruin said:
Why do you think it is a typo? What do you think "ms" means? Are you familiar with the SI prefixes?
Ah, didn't realize that it meant milliseconds! First time I've ever seen that in Physics. Would that mean 0.50ms=0.5*10^-3s or 5*10^-4s?
 
vaibzzz123 said:
Would that mean 0.50ms=0.5*10^-3s?
Yes.

vaibzzz123 said:
Ah, didn't realize that it meant milliseconds! First time I've ever seen that in Physics.
The SI prefixes may be used together with any unit in the SI system. It is a good lesson to take in.

Edit: The caveat being the use together with the SI unit kg ...
 

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