How to find initial velocity with only an angle and distance?

[Tracy Reynoso]

I am in Algebra 2 and the homework asks a question:
"You and a friend arw driving golf balls at a driving range. If the angle of elevation is 30 degrees and the ball travels 625 feet horizontally, what is the initial velocity of the ball?"

 

[RPinPA]

It seems strange this would be asked in an algebra course since the formulas to solve it come from physics, specifically the equations for accelerated motion.

There was nothing in this chapter about projectiles? There is a standard equation relating velocity, angle, and range. It seems to me in an algebra course that that formula would accompany this problem, in which case all you have to do is plug in the two known things (angle and range) and solve for velocity.

 

[jbriggs444]

I am in Algebra 2 and the homework asks a question:
"You and a friend arw driving golf balls at a driving range. If the angle of elevation is 30 degrees and the ball travels 625 feet horizontally, what is the initial velocity of the ball?"

You seem to have removed the homework template and included only the question. These forums are intended to provide assistance with homework. Not to do it for you.

What is your thinking about the problem? With what you have been given, are there any useful quantities that you can calculate?

In questions of this sort, one typically ignores air resistance and considers only the fixed acceleration of gravity. [With air resistance included, the problem involves not just algebra but differential equations as well].

The student is typically expected to know the acceleration of gravity, approximately 32 feet per second per second. [In physics, one would typically be trained to convert units of measurement and work in meters and seconds. But in Algebra 2, we can skip the conversion and continue to work in feet and seconds]