How Do You Calculate the Initial Velocity of a Projectile?

[TWM]

A ball is thrown at a 45 degree angle and lands 90 meters away. What was the intial velocity?

Tanner

 

[Dick]

Offhand, I don't know. Read the rules of the forum. Write down some kinematical equations and explain what's confusing you about the question. Split the motion into x and y components.

 

[ogb p]

, to determine the initial velocity of the ball, we must use the equation for projectile motion, which is v = √(g*d/sin(2θ)). In this case, g represents the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2), d represents the distance traveled (90 meters), and θ represents the angle at which the ball was thrown (45 degrees). Plugging in these values, we get v = √(9.8*90/sin(2*45)) = √(882/1) = √882 ≈ 29.7 m/s. Therefore, the initial velocity of the ball was approximately 29.7 m/s. Keep in mind that this is assuming there was no air resistance or other external factors affecting the motion of the ball.