Harold the Hurler is a physics student who is renowned for his baseball pitching

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 0.143-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 0.429 m. The spring's force constant is 893 N/m, and the position of the baseball's momentary rest is 7.01 m above ground level. The point in the pit where the Hurler starts his pitch is 10.3 m below ground level. How much work does Harold perform on the baseball? Take g = 9.80 m/s2.

Explanation / Answer

Work done is equal to change in energy

W = (1/2) kx^2 + m g H

W = (1/2)(893) (0.429)^2 + (0.143)(9.8)(10.3 + 7.01)

W = 106.9J

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