Question

A golf ball was struck from the first tee. It was given at the velocity of 50 m/s at an angle of 42° to the horizontal. on the moon, the acceleration due to gravity is 1.6 m/s². What are the vertical and horizontal components of ball's velocity?

Answer 1

To determine the vertical and horizontal components of the golf ball's velocity when it was struck from the first tee, we can use trigonometry and decompose the initial velocity vector into its vertical and horizontal components.

Given: Initial velocity magnitude (v) = 50 m/s Launch angle (θ) = 42° Acceleration due to gravity on the moon (g_moon) = 1.6 m/s²

Vertical Component: The vertical component of velocity (v_vertical) represents the rate at which the ball's height changes over time. It can be calculated using the following equation:

v_vertical = v * sin(θ)

v_vertical = 50 m/s * sin(42°) v_vertical ≈ 32.44 m/s

Horizontal Component: The horizontal component of velocity (v_horizontal) represents the rate at which the ball's horizontal position changes over time. It can be calculated using the following equation:

v_horizontal = v * cos(θ)

v_horizontal = 50 m/s * cos(42°) v_horizontal ≈ 37.91 m/s

Therefore, the vertical component of the ball's velocity is approximately 32.44 m/s, and the horizontal component of the ball's velocity is approximately 37.91 m/s.