Velocity (Magnitude and Direction) of a tossed object as it hits something

[jg871]

Homework Statement

John jumps and shoots and makes a basket from the far end of the court, a distance of 27.5 m. The ball is shot at an angle of 41.0 degrees to the horizontal from a height of 1.98 m above the ground with a speed of 17.2 m/s. The basket is 3.00 m off the ground. a. Sketch a y vs. x graph for the basketball. b. What is the velocity of the basketball (magnitude and direction) as it hits the basket? **I've seen people on yahoo answers try to solve something like this is the conservation of energy, I can't use this.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

To be honest, I don't even know where to start. I'm lost and any help would be appreciated[/B]

 

[mfb]

You should be able to make a sketch even without any formal physics knowledge. You can draw the floor, John and the basket, and the approximate path the ball takes.

Concerning the other question, what are the initial vertical and horizontal velocities? How do they change with time?

 

[jg871]

You should be able to make a sketch even without any formal physics knowledge. You can draw the floor, John and the basket, and the approximate path the ball takes.

Concerning the other question, what are the initial vertical and horizontal velocities? How do they change with time?

Sorry, I already got the sketch down I just copy pasted the whole question here. Initial vertical velocity I assume is 17.2 but then again I'm so lost

 

[mfb]

Concerning the other question, what are the initial vertical and horizontal velocities?[...]

That is a very basic question relative to the problem, so it should not be hard to answer this.