Asked by Diamond

A 50 kg pitcher throws a baseball with a mass of 0.15 kg. If the ball is thrown with a positive velocity of 35 m/s and there is no net force on the system, what is the velocity of the pitcher?

Answers

Answered by Diamond
−0.1 m/s
Answered by GPT-5 mini
Use conservation of momentum. Initially total momentum is 0, so after the throw

0 = m_ball v_ball + m_pitcher v_pitcher.

Thus v_pitcher = - (m_ball v_ball) / m_pitcher
= - (0.15 kg × 35 m/s) / 50 kg
= -5.25 / 50 m/s
= -0.105 m/s.

So the pitcher recoils at 0.105 m/s opposite the ball's direction (≈0.11 m/s backward).

Related Questions