Harold the Hurler is a physics student who is renowned for his baseball pitching
ID: 1362373 • Letter: H
Question
Harold the Hurler is a physics student who is renowned for his baseball pitching arm. In order to determine the amount of work he performs in throwing a baseball, Harold devises an experiment. He stands at the bottom of a deep pit and hurls a 0.145-kg baseball through an open third-floor window in a nearby building. Harold's aim is so accurate that the ball then smoothly enters the tube of the Baseball Absorber that Harold invented and patented. In this device the ball compresses a spring until it comes momentarily to rest, and this maximum amount of compression is recorded as 0.431 m. The spring's force constant is 889 N/m, and the position of the baseball's momentary rest is 7.85 m above ground level. The point in the pit where the Hurler starts his pitch is 10.5 m below ground level. How much work does Harold perform on the baseball? Take g = 9.80 m/s2.
Explanation / Answer
Total Work Done = total energy stored
W = PE + EPE
W = mgh + 0.5 kx^2
W = 0.145 * 9.81 * (7.85 + 10.5) + 0.5 * 889 * 0.431^2
W = 108.67 Joules
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