Question

Please use complete sentences and clearly indicate which part of the question you are answering

A baseball game in space. Taking a break from assembling the space station, a bunch of astronauts decide to try playing baseball. They put on their spacesuits and jetpacks and go "outside" to play. In each part, when I say "what happens to ..." I mean do they or it start or stop moving? In what direction? In each case explain how you know the answer to the question.

(a) After each of the players has found a good spot and used his jetpack to stop moving relative to the space station, the pitcher revs up and throws what on Earth would be a good curve ball. What happens to the ball in space? What happens to the pitcher?

(b) The batter takes a crack at the ball and connects; the ball heads back the way it came (luckily avoiding the pitcher). What happens to the batter?

(c) The ball heads straight out into left field, where another astronaut catches it. What happens to them?

(d) Would any of these answers be different if they were playing inside the space ship and without their space suits?

Answer 1

a)
Due to the lack of gravity and air resistance, the curve ball will not be curved, it will be in straight line.
The pitcher will move backward following Newton's third law of motion.

b)
The batter will move opposite to the motion of the ball after hitting due to Newton's third law. The force applied on the ball is same as the force the ball applies on the batter.

c)
The catcher will continue to move in the direction of the ball to conserve momentum.

d)
These answers will remain the same since there is no gravity inside the space ship too.