Question

Blaze is holding two softballs while standing in a balcony. She releases her grip on ball 1, letting it drop over the side of the building and at the same instant she throws ball 2 straight up in the air. Draw velocity vs time, position vs time and acceleration vs time graphs that represent the motion of each ball on the same pair of axes. Explain the main features of the two sets of graphs, how they are similar and how they are different.

Answer 1

For Ball 1 :

Since Ball1 is freely falling, then velocity starts from zero at initial position and gruadually increases in -ve direction.

Accelearation is constant which is acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/sec² =g

distance =x=

since u=initial velocity = 0

hence

hence the path follows a parabolic path.

For Ball-2

For ball-2

when ball is thrown vertically upward, then it moves up upto certain height and then moves downward. the path also follow parabolic curve. since the ball is thtrown with initial velocity , and velocity decreases and at maximum height it is zero, and then velocity increseas as ball goes downward.

Since ball is thrown against the gravity,Hence acceleration is against the gravity, hence accleration = -9.8m/sec² = -g