A ball of mass 0.5 kg is thrown vertically upward with speed 6 m/s in air with negligible air resistance. What is the maximum height?

A ball of mass 0.5 kg is thrown vertically upward with speed 6 m/s in air with negligible air resistance. What is the maximum height?

• A. 1.84 m
• B. 3.60 m
• C. 0.90 m
• D. 6.00 m

Answer: (A)

When a ball is thrown upward, gravity slows it down until its velocity becomes zero at the top. Because air resistance is neglected, energy is conserved, so the initial kinetic energy transforms into gravitational potential energy: (1/2) m u^2 = m g h. The mass cancels, leaving h = u^2/(2g). With an initial speed of 6 m/s and g ≈ 9.8 m/s^2, the height is 36 / 19.6 ≈ 1.84 m. So the maximum height is about 1.84 m. The other numbers don’t fit the given initial speed and gravity.

When a ball is thrown upward, gravity slows it down until its velocity becomes zero at the top. Because air resistance is neglected, energy is conserved, so the initial kinetic energy transforms into gravitational potential energy: (1/2) m u^2 = m g h. The mass cancels, leaving h = u^2/(2g). With an initial speed of 6 m/s and g ≈ 9.8 m/s^2, the height is 36 / 19.6 ≈ 1.84 m. So the maximum height is about 1.84 m. The other numbers don’t fit the given initial speed and gravity.