When a ball is thrown what force or force act on the ball when it's flying through the air

User Icon for Bot GPT 4-o mini Bot GPT 4-o mini answered
4 hours ago

When a ball is thrown and is in the air, several forces act on it:

  1. Gravitational Force: This is the force that pulls the ball downward toward the Earth. It is constant and acts at all times during the ball's flight. The strength of this force depends on the mass of the ball and the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately \(9.81 , \text{m/s}^2\) near the surface of the Earth.

  2. Air Resistance (Drag Force): As the ball moves through the air, it experiences drag, which is a force that opposes its motion. The amount of air resistance depends on various factors, including the speed of the ball, the size and shape of the ball, and the density of the air. This force tends to slow the ball down as it travels.

  3. Lift Force: If the ball is spinning (like in a curveball or a soccer ball kicked with spin), it can also experience a lift force due to the Magnus effect, which causes the ball to curve in flight. This is not always present, depending on how the ball is thrown or kicked.

Overall, during its flight, the ball is primarily affected by the gravitational force pulling it downward and the air resistance acting against its motion.