A 0.155 kg baseball is thrown upward with an initial speed of 14.5 m/s.

What is the force on the ball when it reaches half of its maximum height? (Disregard friction.)
What is the force on the ball when it reaches its peak?

M*g = 1.52 Newtons (the weight), in both cases. I assume the ball is thrown on Earth somewhere. That is why the g comes in.

Well, if we disregard friction, we can safely assume that gravity is the only force acting on the baseball. And since the baseball is thrown upwards, gravity is working against it.

When the baseball reaches half of its maximum height, the force on the ball is still gravity but in the opposite direction. You can think of it as gravity saying, "Hey, I want you to come back down!"

Now, when the baseball reaches its peak, the force on the ball is zero. Gravity has taken a vacation and temporarily stops pulling the baseball down. It's like gravity is saying, "Alright, baseball, I'll let you enjoy the view for a moment before I bring you back down to reality!"

So, to summarize: at half of its maximum height, the force is directed downwards (opposite to the initial throw). At its peak, the force is zero-interest (gravity taking a break).

To find the force on the ball when it reaches half of its maximum height, we need to consider the forces acting on the ball at that point. The main force acting on the ball is its weight, which is given by the equation:

Weight = mass * gravitational acceleration

The gravitational acceleration is approximately 9.8 m/s^2 near the surface of the Earth.

Step 1: Find the weight of the ball
Weight = mass * gravitational acceleration
Weight = 0.155 kg * 9.8 m/s^2
Weight = 1.519 N

Step 2: Find the force on the ball when it reaches half of its maximum height
When the ball reaches half of its maximum height, its velocity becomes zero. At this point, the force on the ball is equal to its weight because there is no other force acting on it in the vertical direction.

Therefore, the force on the ball when it reaches half of its maximum height is 1.519 N.

To find the force on the ball when it reaches its peak, we again need to consider the forces acting on the ball at that point. The main force acting on the ball is still its weight, but now it is in the opposite direction.

Step 3: Find the force on the ball when it reaches its peak
At the peak of its motion, the velocity of the ball becomes zero again. However, now the force on the ball is the weight acting in the opposite direction.

Therefore, the force on the ball when it reaches its peak is -1.519 N (opposite direction of its weight).

To determine the force on the baseball, we need to consider the forces acting on it. In this case, we can analyze the forces at two different points: when the ball is at half of its maximum height and when it reaches its peak.

1. Force at half of the maximum height:

At this point, the ball is moving upward but slowing down due to the gravitational force pulling it downward. To find the force, we need to calculate the net force acting on the ball.

First, let's find the height at half of the maximum height:
We know that the maximum height is reached when the vertical velocity becomes zero.
Using the kinematic equation v^2 = u^2 + 2as, where v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration, and s is the displacement, we can solve for s:
0 = (14.5 m/s)^2 + 2*(-9.8 m/s^2) * s
s = (14.5 m/s)^2 / (2 * 9.8 m/s^2)
s ≈ 10.58 m

So, the height at half of the maximum height is approximately 10.58 meters.

Now let's calculate the force at this point:
The gravitational force acting on the baseball is given by the equation: F = m * g, where m is the mass of the baseball and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

F = (0.155 kg) * (9.8 m/s^2)
F ≈ 1.519 N

Therefore, the force on the ball when it reaches half of its maximum height is approximately 1.519 Newtons.

2. Force at the peak of the ball's trajectory:

At the peak of the motion, the vertical velocity of the ball is zero. The only force acting on the ball is the gravitational force pulling it downward.

Using the same equation as before, the force at the peak can be calculated as:

F = (0.155 kg) * (9.8 m/s^2)
F ≈ 1.519 N

Therefore, the force on the ball when it reaches its peak is also approximately 1.519 Newtons.

In both cases, the force on the ball is the weight of the ball, which is the product of its mass and the acceleration due to gravity.