Question

A quarterback throws a football with an initial velocity v at an angle θ above horizontal. Assume the ball leaves the quarterback’s hand at ground level and moves without air resistance. All portions of this problem will produce algebraic expressions in terms of v, θ, and g. Let the origin of the Cartesian coordinate system be the ballʼs initial position.
(a): Write an expression for the magnitude of the football’s initial vertical velocity v0y.
(b): Find an expression for the magnitude of the football’s initial horizontal velocity v0x.

Answer 1

(a) The y-component or vertical velocity is calculated using:
Vy = Vsin(∅)

(b) The x-component or horizontal velocity is calculated using:
Vx = Vcos(∅)