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 143-g 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 47.3 cm. The spring's force constant is 829 N/m, and the position of the baseball's momentary rest is 7.63 m above ground level. The point in the pit where the Hurler starts his pitch is 12.9 m below ground level. How much work does Harold perform on the baseball? Take g = 9.80 m/s2.

Explanation / Answer

work - energy theorem.

Work done = kx^2 /2 + mgH = 829 x 0.473^2 /2 + 0.143 x 9.8 x (7.63 - (-12.9))

W =121.54 J

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