- #1
Stochastic13
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Homework Statement
A soccer player kicks a ball to his teammate, who is
a distance d away. Even though the kick launches the
ball with speed v0 and angle θ0 , the teammate knows it
will not travel far enough to reach him before it lands.
So as soon as the ball is kicked, the teammate begins
running toward the ball. If he is to meet the ball just
before it hits the ground, show that his average speed
must be vp = (gd / 2v0 sin θ0) - v0 cos θ0
where g is the acceleration due to gravity. Neglect air
resistance.
Homework Equations
parabolic motion equation
The Attempt at a Solution
I understand that t0 = tp and that the distance that the ball travels depends on the angle at which it is kicked. I solved for y to describe the trajectory of the ball in terms of angle theta and I know that xp = vp*t , then my plan was to solve the trajectory equation for x and use the fact that x0 + xp = d but I can't solve the trajectory equation for x since it quadratic. What do I do?