How to Calculate the Vertical Component of Initial Velocity of a Ball

What is the vertical component of the initial velocity of a ball?

Suppose during the lab you read 55° from the protractor. If the initial speed of the ball is 10.8 m/s, what is the vertical component of the initial velocity of the ball?

Answer:

The vertical component of the initial velocity of the ball is approximately 8.91 m/s.

To find the vertical component of the initial velocity of the ball, you'll need to use trigonometry, specifically the sine function.

Given:

Angle (θ) = 55 degrees

Initial speed (v) = 10.8 m/s

The vertical component (v vertical) can be calculated as:

v vertical = v * sin(θ)

First, you need to convert the angle from degrees to radians because trigonometric functions, such as the sine function, work with radians.

θ (in radians) = 55 degrees * (π/180)

θ ≈ 0.9599 radians

Now, you can calculate the vertical component of the initial velocity:

v vertical = 10.8 m/s * sin(0.9599 radians)

v vertical ≈ 10.8 m/s * 0.8267

v vertical ≈ 8.91 m/s

So, the vertical component of the initial velocity of the ball is approximately 8.91 m/s.