How High Can Basketball Players Jump?

[Intr3pid]

the best rebounders in basketball have a vertical leap (that is, the vertical movement of a fixed point on their body) of 120cm.

a) what is their initial "launch" speed off the ground?

b) how long are they in the air?

i don't want you guys to give me an answer. Can you guys point me in the right direction on how to solve these questions?

 

[Kazza_765]

Think about your equations of motion. What I do is write down the variables that I know, and the variable that I want to know, then find the equation that has all of those in it.
So for this case you know that.
x = 1.2m (displacement)
a = -9.8m/s^2 (accelleration due to gravity)
v = 0 (final velocity, this occurs when they are at maximum height)
u = ? (initial velocity, what you need to find)
So you need to find the equation that uses x, a, v, and u and solve it.

 

[quicknote]

Sure, I'd be happy to provide some guidance on how to approach these questions. The first step would be to understand the equation for vertical leap, which is:

Vertical Leap = (Initial Launch Speed)^2 / (2 * Acceleration Due to Gravity)

In this case, we are given the vertical leap (120cm) and the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2). So, we can rearrange the equation to solve for the initial launch speed:

Initial Launch Speed = √(2 * Acceleration Due to Gravity * Vertical Leap)

Now, for part (a), we can plug in the values we have:

Initial Launch Speed = √(2 * 9.8 m/s^2 * 120cm)

Remember to convert the vertical leap from cm to m by dividing by 100:

Initial Launch Speed = √(2 * 9.8 m/s^2 * 1.2 m)

Simplifying, we get:

Initial Launch Speed = √23.52 m^2/s^2

Taking the square root, we get:

Initial Launch Speed = 4.85 m/s

So, the initial launch speed off the ground is approximately 4.85 m/s.

For part (b), we can use the equation for time of flight:

Time of Flight = (2 * Initial Launch Speed) / Acceleration Due to Gravity

Again, we can plug in the values we have:

Time of Flight = (2 * 4.85 m/s) / 9.8 m/s^2

Simplifying, we get:

Time of Flight = 0.99 seconds

So, the best rebounders in basketball are in the air for approximately 0.99 seconds.

I hope this helps you to solve these questions. Remember to always check your units and make sure they are consistent throughout the calculations. Good luck!