Understanding Kinematic Equations in Physics
Two students are on a balcony a distance h above the street. One student throws a ball vertically downward at a speed vi; at the same time, the other student throws a ball vertically upward at the same speed.
- For the ball thrown upwards: y = h + vit - 0.5gt^2
- For the ball thrown downwards: y = h - vit - 0.5gt^2
This equation considers initial velocity (vi), gravitational acceleration (g), height above the street (h), and time (t).
This is because the initial velocity (vi) is in the negative direction i.e., downward.
Note that 'y' gives the y-coordinate of each ball at a given time. The directions in both equations are taken with respect to the ground.
Question: What is the kinematic equation for the y-coordinate of a ball thrown upwards and downwards in physics? Answer: The kinematic equation for the y-coordinate of a ball thrown upwards is y = h + vit - 0.5gt^2, while for a ball thrown downwards, it is y = h - vit - 0.5gt^2.