A quarterback claims that he can throw the football a horizontal distance of 189

Question

A quarterback claims that he can throw the football a horizontal distance of 189 m. Furthermore, he claims that he can do this by launching the ball at the relatively low angle of 30.9 ° above the horizontal. To evaluate this claim, determine the speed with which this quarterback must throw the ball. Assume that the ball is launched and caught at the same vertical level and that air resistance can be ignored. For comparison a baseball pitcher who can accurately throw a fastball at 45 m/s (100 mph) would be considered exceptional.

Explanation / Answer

The range formula, simplified for equal throwing and catching height is d = v^2 sin (2*theta)/g v^2 = dg/sin(61.8) =189m*9.8m/s^2/0.881 = 2102m^2/s^2 v = 45.8 m/s since it is easier to throw a baseball, this claim seems impossible. Things like Frisbees actually work better with air, but neglecting wind effects, throwing a football this far seems impossible.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.