A pitcher throws a softball toward home plate. When the ball hits the catcher's mitt, its horizontal velocity is 32 meters/second. The softball's velocity goes to 0 meters/second in 0.8 seconds when caught. If the softball has a mass of 0.2 kilograms, what's the force of the impact? Use F = ma, where. The force of the impact is newtons.

Question

Physics

Tomas Forbes

18 August, 17:55

A pitcher throws a softball toward home plate. When the ball hits the catcher's mitt, its horizontal velocity is 32 meters/second. The softball's velocity goes to 0 meters/second in 0.8 seconds when caught. If the softball has a mass of 0.2 kilograms, what's the force of the impact? Use F = ma, where. The force of the impact is newtons.

+1

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Athena Holloway · Answer 1

To calculate the force of impact F, first lets calculate the acceleration a of the ball:

a=v/t where v is the velocity of the ball and t is time

a=32/0.8=40 m/s²

To get the force F we need the Newtons second law:

F=m*a where m is the mass of the ball and a is the acceleration.

F=m*a = 0.2*40 = 8 N

So the impact force is F = 8 N.