The fastest recorded pitch in Major League Baseball was...

The fastest recorded pitch in Major League Baseball was thrown by Nolan Ryan in 1974 . If this pitch were thrown horizontally, the ball would fall $0.809 \mathrm{m}(2.65 \mathrm{ft})$ by the time it reached home plate, $18.3 \mathrm{m}(60 \mathrm{ft})$ away, How fast was Ryan's pitch?

Key Concepts

Projectile Motion

Projectile motion describes the motion of an object that is launched into the air, where its horizontal and vertical components move independently. The horizontal component usually has constant velocity (ignoring air resistance), while the vertical component is influenced by gravity, leading to uniform acceleration downward.

Separation of Motion Components

This concept refers to treating the horizontal and vertical motions independently in projectile motion problems. The horizontal motion of a projectile remains constant while the vertical motion is accelerated due to gravity, allowing one to calculate parameters such as time of flight using vertical displacement and then apply that time to the horizontal component.

Kinematic Equations

Kinematic equations are a set of formulas used to calculate various parameters of motion, such as displacement, velocity, time, and acceleration. In projectile motion, these equations help determine the time it takes for an object to fall a certain vertical distance using the equation y = 1/2 * g * t^2, which is critical in relating vertical displacement to horizontal distance traveled.

Gravitational Acceleration

Gravitational acceleration is the constant acceleration experienced by objects due to Earth's gravitational pull, typically approximated as 9.8 m/s². In projectile motion problems, this acceleration is responsible for the vertical displacement of an object and is used in kinematic equations to determine time, speed, and other motion characteristics.

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