When a baseball is tossed directly upward, what is the slope of a plot of its acceleration versus time during the upward flight?
plot has constant positive slope
plot has constant negative slope
plot has zero slope
I think it is zero slope
The plot would have a zero slope. That is the answer.
no, the acceleration is a constant: -9.8m/s^2 or -32ft/s^2, due to gravity
If accerlation is constant, then that would show a straight line on the graph, correct? So that line has a slope=0.
To determine the slope of the plot of acceleration versus time for a baseball tossed directly upward, we need to understand the motion of the ball during its upward flight.
When a baseball is tossed directly upward, it experiences two key forces: gravity pulling it downward and the initial upward force given by the toss. Initially, as the ball moves upward, the force due to the toss is greater than the force of gravity, causing the ball to accelerate in the upward direction. This means the acceleration is positive.
As the ball reaches its highest point and starts to come back down, the force of gravity becomes stronger than the force of the toss, causing the ball to decelerate. During this phase, the acceleration becomes negative.
Therefore, the plot of acceleration versus time during the upward flight of the baseball would have a changing slope. It starts with a positive slope as the ball accelerates upward, then the slope gradually decreases until the ball reaches its peak height where the slope would be zero. Finally, as the ball begins to descend, the slope becomes negative.
Hence, the correct answer is that the plot of the baseball's acceleration versus time during its upward flight does not have a zero slope.