If the pitching wedge the golfer is using gives the ball an initial angle =50, w
ID: 1817691 • Letter: I
Question
If the pitching wedge the golfer is using gives the ball an initial angle =50, what range of velocities v will cause the ball to land within 3 m of the hole? The hole is 30 meters from the golfer (assume the hole lies in the plane of the balls trajectory)
What I got so far in this problem is that time = x/vcos and that y=(vsin)t - (gt2)/2. I substitued the time formula into y. Since the distance from golfer to the hole is 30 meters, x has to be either 27 or 33. When I went about trying to solve this problem I kept getting 13 m/s which is wrong. Could someone please show me where my error is and how to correct it.
Explanation / Answer
First, off the equation should be y = (vsin)t+(gt2)/2
Now, substitue the time equation in for t:
y = (vsin)(x/(vcos))+0.5g(x/(vcos))2
Simplify:
y = xcot + 0.5gx2/v2cos2
Solve for v:
v = ((2cos2(y-xcot))/gx2)
We know:
x = 27 OR x = 33
Solve for y using trig:
y = 27tan55 OR y = 33tan55
Now plug each case into v equation using angles in degrees (NOT radians):
You get the following:
v = 31 m/s OR v = 41.9 m/s