Why Is the Initial Speed of a Ball Thrown Vertically 19 m/s?

[athena04]

A ball thrown vertically from ground level is caught 3.0 s later by a person on a balcony who is 14 m above the ground, determine the initial speed of the ball.

When I first tried doing this problem, I tried using the speed equation of distance/change in time, so I divided 14 by 3 which gave me 4.7 m/s, but according to my study guide the answer is 19 m/s and I'm having a hard time understanding why that's the answer and what equation I would use to solve it. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[PhanthomJay]

Hi athena, welcome to PF!

If you are using displacement = average velocity * time, your result is the average velocity, not the initial velocity. Can you find another equation to use from the list of the kinematic motion equations?

 

[SteamKing]

What happens to the speed of the ball after it leaves the thrower's hand?