Asked by Jan

The vertical leap of a professional NBA athlete is reported to be 47.3 inches. What is his takeoff speed?

in m/s? is this kinematics??
Answered by drwls
Some would call it kinematics; when I went to college, it was called mechanics. Kinematics meant something else. (It was about stuff like gear teeth and four-bar linkages - relative motion in machines). Anyway let's pick the metric system to do it in and assume the player jumps straight up. Let's assume 47.3 inches (1.201 meters) is the distance his center of mass rises.

(1/2) M V^2 = M g H (from energy conservation)

V = sqrt (2gH)

g = 9.8 m/s^2. Solve for H,

The height you want is H.
Answered by Jan
but isnt the question asking for initial velocity??
Answered by drwls
Yes. You are right. Use the same equation. You know H and want to solve for V.

Sorry. I forgot what the problem asked for
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