Question

A football is kicked into the air with a velocity of 32m/s at an angle of 25º. At the very top of the ball’s path, its vertical velocity is _____________.

Answer 1

Zero

Step-by-step explanation:

The motion of the ball is the motion of a projectile, and it consists of two independent motions:

- A horizontal motion with constant velocity

- A vertical motion with constant acceleration g =9.8 m/s^2 towards the ground

We are only interested in the vertical component of the velocity, which is given by

`v_y = v_0 sin \theta -gt`

where

v0 = 32 m/s is the initial speed

`\theta=25^(\circ)` is the initial direction

t is the time

The vertical component of the velocity decreases until the ball reaches its maximum height. At that moment, the vertical velocity becomes zero, and then it changes direction (pointing downward).