Projectile Motion Trig Problem

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on solving a projectile motion problem involving a baseball batted at an initial velocity of v0=100 feet per second, caught 300 feet from home plate. The range formula used is r=1/32v0²sin2θ, leading to the calculation of the angle θ. The first solution found is approximately 37 degrees, while the second angle, confirmed by the book, is 53 degrees. The key insight is that complementary angles (angles summing to 90 degrees) yield the same range in projectile motion.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of projectile motion principles
  • Familiarity with trigonometric functions, specifically sine
  • Knowledge of the range formula for projectile motion
  • Basic algebra skills for solving equations
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the derivation of the projectile motion range formula
  • Learn about complementary angles in trigonometry
  • Explore the impact of initial velocity on projectile trajectories
  • Practice solving various projectile motion problems with different angles and distances
USEFUL FOR

Students studying physics, educators teaching projectile motion concepts, and anyone interested in applying trigonometry to real-world problems.

Phyzwizz
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I found one of the answers to the problem, and I took a peak, but couldn't find out how the book got the second answer.

Problem-
A batted baseball leaves the bat at an angle of θ with the horizontal and an initial velocity of v0=100 feet per second. The ball is caught by an outfielder 300 feet from home plate. Find θ if the range r of a projectile is given by.

r=1/32v02sin2θ

so 300=(1/32)(100)2sin2θ

θ=theta

I got approximately 37 degrees for one of my answers. I tried finding the second angle measure by taking the square root of 100 so I could have 2 answers but I realized that would just give me -37 degrees. I'm sure when someone answers this I will be pretty upset that I didn't see how to get the second degree angle, which the book says is 53 degrees. I plugged it into the equation and it works but how in the world do you get there.
 

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Suppose you got sin(2θ) = 1/2, then 2θ = 30 degrees or ( 180 - 30 ) degrees.
Hence you get two values. In general, in projectile motion, range will be the same for complementary angles ( whose sum is 90 degrees).
 

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