Projectile Motion With Air Resistance
Which of the following statements are true for a basketball that is projected diagonally upwards (air resistance cannot be ignored )?
a. The basketball's kinetic energy is zero at the highest point of its motion.
b. The basketball’s average kinetic energy is smaller when traveling upwards than downwards.
c. The time taken for the basketball to travel upwards is less than the time taken to travel downward.
d. The horizontal distance traveled when the basketball is moving upwards is equal to the horizontal distance traveled when the basketball is moving downwards.
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1 solution
A – Since the body is projected diagonally upwards, it has horizontal velocity at the highest point of motion, therefore its kinetic energy can be non-zero.
B – Average kinetic energy upwards is greater than the kinetic energy downwards. This is because when the object is travelling upwards, acceleration and air resistance act in the same direction, but while downwards the two forces act in different directions.
C – Time travelling upwards < time travelling downwards due to the same reason as (B).
D – Horizontal distance travelled upwards > horizontal distance travelled downwards due to resistance acting horizontally to the object.