Harold the Hurler is a physics student who is renowned for his baseball pitching

Question

Harold the Hurler is a physics student who is renowned for his baseball pitching arm. In order to determine the amount of work he performs in throwing a baseball, Harold devises an experiment. He stands at the bottom of a deep pit and hurls a 0.146-kg baseball through an open third-floor window in a nearby building. Harold's aim is so accurate that the ball then smoothly enters the tube of the Baseball Absorber that Harold invented and patented. In this device the ball compresses a spring until it comes momentarily to rest, and this maximum amount of compression is recorded as 0.495 m. The spring's force constant is 813 N/m, and the position of the baseball's momentary rest is 7.77 m above ground level. The point in the pit where the Hurler starts his pitch is 12.1 m below ground level. How much work does Harold perform on the baseball? Take g = 9.80 m/s2.

Explanation / Answer

mass of the base ball m=0.146kg

compression x=0.495 m

spring constant K=813 N/m

height above the ground is h1=7.77 m

height below the ground is h2=12.1 m

total workdone W=1/2*k*x^2+m*g*(h2-h1)

W=1/2*813*0.495^2+0.146*9.8*(7.77-(-12.1))

W=128.033 J

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