Problem

A golfer on the moon (where gravitational acceleration equals 1.67 m/sec²) hits a ball whose initial velocity in the vertical direction is 30 meters per second. What is the maximum height the ball reaches?

Solution

This is similar to the meteoroid example, with a different initial velocity and acceleration. Since the acceleration is acting in the opposite direction to the velocity, they have opposite signs.

To find the maximum height, first we find the time at which the velocity of the ball has decreased to 0. The formula for velocity is

or about 18 seconds.

The formula for distance traveled in t seconds is

So the ball will reach a height of about 270 meters.