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Impulse on a baseball

A baseball of mass m = 0.14 kg is thrown towards home plate at 100 mph. The batter whacks it squarely and sends it back towards center field at a speed of 150 mph.

  1. What is the ball's initial momentum?
  2. What is the ball's final momentum?
  3. What is the impulse, defined as the change in momentum 
    
       impulse  =   (final momentum)  -  (initial momentum)
  4. If the ball is in contact with the bat for about t = 0.0007 s, then what is the average force on the ball during that time?


Harold Edgerton's image appears courtesy of The Thompson Gallery at the Cambridge School of Weston

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Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.