How Do You Calculate Projectile Motion in Football?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating projectile motion in football, specifically for a quarterback throwing a ball to a receiver 40.0 meters away at an angle of 37.0 degrees. Key calculations include determining the initial speed of the ball, the time taken to reach the receiver, and the maximum height of the ball during its flight. The vertical and horizontal components of the ball's velocity are expressed as v*sin(37) and v*cos(37), respectively, where v represents the initial velocity. The user seeks assistance in deriving formulas for time to maximum height and time to reach the receiver based on initial velocity and angle.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic physics concepts, particularly projectile motion.
  • Familiarity with trigonometric functions, specifically sine and cosine.
  • Ability to manipulate algebraic equations for solving variables.
  • Knowledge of kinematic equations related to motion in two dimensions.
NEXT STEPS
  • Learn how to derive the kinematic equations for projectile motion.
  • Study the concepts of vertical and horizontal motion components in physics.
  • Explore the use of trigonometry in solving physics problems involving angles.
  • Practice calculating maximum height and time of flight for various projectile scenarios.
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Students studying physics, particularly those focusing on mechanics and projectile motion, as well as educators seeking to enhance their teaching methods in this area.

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Homework Statement


A quarterback throws the football to a stationary reciever who is 40.0m down the field. If the football is thrown at an initial angle of 37.0 degrees to the ground,
a. What is the initial speed of the ball?
b. How much time does it take for the ball to reach the reciever?
c. What is the ball's highest point during its flight.


Homework Equations


I took these images from wikipedia... Couldn't figure out that whole LaTeX thing.
122b1743350726387f11e0c0977d1abf.png

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4507e8151d7f4b9a5e7ea5ecc9599f56.png

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The Attempt at a Solution


Well, I didn't get far. I figured you could break the ball's velocity into 2 parts, the vertical motion and horizontal motion, yielding vsin37 for vertical and vcos37 for horizontal motion. However, I don't know what value v is. I'm thinking that substitution will have to be used but I'm not sure where to go from here. I could really use some help! Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Suppose v is the original velocity... what is the time it takes the ball to get to its maximum height in terms of v and theta? what is the time it takes the ball to get to 40.0m in terms of v and theta?
 

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