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In 1998, Jason Elam kicked a record field goal. The football started on the ground a horizontal distance of 63.0 yards from the goal posts and just barely cleared the 10-ft-high bar. If the initial trajectory of the football was 40.0° above the horizontal, (a) what was its initial speed and (b) how long after the ball was struck did it pass through the goal posts?

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User Celada
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1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

a)The initial speed of the ball was 24.8 m/s.

b)The ball passed through the goal posts 3.04 s after it was kicked.

Step-by-step explanation:

The position vector of the ball at time "t" can be calculated using the following equation:

r = (x0 + v0 · t · cos α, y0 + v0 · t · sin α + 1/2 · g · t²)

Where:

r = position vector at time t.

x0 = initial horizontal position.

v0 = initial velocity.

t = time.

α = launching angle.

y0 = initial vertical position.

g = acceleration due to gravity (-9.8 m/s² considering the upward direction as positive).

Please, see the attached figure for a better understanding of the problem ( the following unit conversions were made 63.0 yards = 57.6 m and 10 ft = 3.05 m).

Notice that the position vector when the ball clears the bar is the following (see r 1 in the figure) :

r 1 = (57.6 m, 3.05 m)

Then, using the equation for the x and y-component of the position vector written above:

57.6 m = x0 + v0 · t · cos α

3.05 m = y0 + v0 · t · sin α + 1/2 · g · t²

Placing the origin of the frame of reference at the kicking point, x0 and y0 = 0. Then:

57.6 m = v0 · t · cos α

3.05 m = v0 · t · sin α + 1/2 · g · t²

We have two equations and two unknowns, so, we can solve the system:

Let´s solve the equation of the x-component for v0:

57.6 m = v0 · t · cos α

57.6 m / t · cos α = v0

Now, replacing v0 in the equation of the y-component of r

3.05 m = v0 · t · sin α + 1/2 · g · t²

3.05 m = (57.6 m / t · cos α) · t · sin α + 1/2 · g · t²

3.05 m = 57.6 m · tan 40.0° - 1/2 · 9.8 m/s² · t²

Solving for "t":

(3.05 m - 57.6 m · tan 40.0°) / - 1/2 · 9.8 m/s² = t²

t = 3.04 s

b) The ball passed through the goal posts 3.04 s after it was kicked.

a) The initial velocity can now be calculated:

57.6 m / t · cos α = v0

v0 = 57.6 m / 3.03 s · cos 40.0° = 24.8 m/s

The initial speed of the ball was 24.8 m/s

In 1998, Jason Elam kicked a record field goal. The football started on the ground-example-1
answered
User Feh
by
9.0k points
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