A baseball is thrown at 50 m/s horizontally from a height of 3 m. How far will the ball travel before it reaches the ground?

Approximately , assuming that the gravitational field strength is and that the air resistance on this baseball is negligible.

Explanation:

Start by finding the duration of the flight of this baseball.

The SUVAT equation relates to initial height , initial vertical velocity , and gravitational acceleration . (This equation applies only if the air resistance on the baseball is negligible.)

The initial vertical velocity of this baseball would be since this ball was thrown horizontally. The equation becomes:

.

Rearrange and solve for :

.

.

(So is the case for other free fall motions where the initial vertical velocity is .)

Substitute in and the initial height of the baseball :

.

In other words, the baseball would have flown for approximately before landing. If there is no air resistance on this baseball, the horizontal velocity of this baseball would be constant ( until the ball lands.) This baseball would have travelled a horizontal distance of approximately:

.

the device is called “ rocket engine”