A football player catches a pass 49 m from the end zone and runs down the sideline at vp = 5.6 m/s. A defending player directly across on the other sideline, 53.3 yd (48.8 m) away, runs to intercept. If the defending player runs in a straight line, with what minimum speed (in m/s) must they run to intercept the player before reaching the end zone?

Question

A football player catches a pass 49 m from the end zone and runs down the sideline at vp = 5.6 m/s.  A defending player directly across on the other sideline, 53.3 yd (48.8 m) away, runs to intercept. If the defending player runs in a straight line, with what minimum speed (in m/s) must they run to intercept the player before reaching the end zone?

Anonymous · Answer

49 m / 5.6 m/s = 8.75 seconds to score defender must go sqrt (49^2 + 48.8^2) = sqrt (2401+2381) =69.2 m 69.2 m / 8.75 s = 7.9 m/s