A basketball player is trying to make a half-court jump shot, and releasing the ball at the height of the basket. Assuming that the ball is launched at 51.0Â°, 16.0 m from the basket, what speed must the player give the ball?

Question

Physics

Tomas Mueller

16 October, 12:19

A basketball player is trying to make a half-court jump shot, and releasing the ball at the height of the basket. Assuming that the ball is launched at 51.0Â°, 16.0 m from the basket, what speed must the player give the ball?

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Answers (1)

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Elf · Answer 1

The player must give a speed of 12.66 m/s to the ball.

Explanation:

Since, the ball is released at the same height as the basket. Therefore, this is a complete projectile motion, with following parameters:

Horizontal Range = R = 16 m

Launch Angle = θ = 51°

Launch Speed = V = ?

The formula for horizontal range of projectile is:

R = V² Sin 2θ/g

V² = Rg / Sin 2θ

V² = (16 m) (9.8 m/s²) / Sin 2 (51°)

V = √160.3 m²/s²

V = 12.66 m/s