Question

1. A soccer player can kick a ball with maximum initial speed 10 m/s. She kicked the ball at different angles to check how the horizontal distance to the point the ball hits the ground changes with the angle the ball is kicked. Calculate the horizontal distance for different angles and draw a graph of the horizontal distance versus the angle θ with the ground. What is the angle at which the distance is maximum? Can you explain why there are two angles for each distance other than the maximum distance? (Note: You can use a graphing calculator, or you can create a table of distance versus angle and plot on a graph paper. A possible set of angles: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 degrees).

2. Using the equations of motion prove that the angle at which you should kick the soccer ball is 45⁰ in order to get the ball farthest in the horizontal direction until it hits the ground.

Answer 1