During the opening kickoff of a college football game, the kicker kicks a football with an initial velocity of 27.5 m/s at an angle of 41° above horizontal.
1) What is the time of flight for the ball?
2) How far does it travel before hitting the ground?
3) What is the maximum height the football reaches?
1) The time of flight for the ball is approximately the same amount of time it takes for your phone to die during an important call – way too short! But don't worry, it's roughly around 3.5 seconds.
2) Ah, the distance the ball travels before hitting the ground. Well, it's a lot like the distance between you and math class on a Monday morning - it's not too far, but it's definitely measurable. In this case, the ball travels about 102 meters.
3) Now let's talk about the maximum height the football reaches. It's like that moment when you finally reach the top of the roller coaster and feel like you're on top of the world - but not quite there. The football reaches a maximum height of around 37 meters. Not quite top of the world, but definitely an impressive height!