A ball shot straight up from the ground is at the same height after both 4 seconds and 6 seconds. If the acceleration due to gravity is 10m/s , what was the initial velocity of the ball?
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Assuming that the motion is entirely vertical, the height y of the ball (in m ) will be given by the equation
y = v t − 2 g t 2 = v t − 5 t 2 ,
where v is the initial upward velocity and where we have taken g to be 1 0 m / s 2 as suggested. Now for the ball to be at the same height at both t = 4 s and t = 6 s we will require that
4 v − 5 ∗ 4 2 = 6 v − 5 ∗ 6 2 ⟹ 4 v − 8 0 = 6 v − 1 8 0 ⟹ 1 0 0 = 2 v ⟹ v = 5 0 m / s .