Question

Spud Webb was, at 5 ft 8 in, one of the shortest basketball players to play in the NBA. But he had an amazing vertical leap; he could jump to a height of 1.1 m off the ground, so he could easily dunk a basketball. For such a leap, what was his "hang time" - the time spent in the air after leaving the ground and before touching down again

Answer 1

Answer:

The hang time is 0.95 s

Explanation:

Spud Webb has a height of 5 feet 8 inches and is one of the shortest basketball players to play in the NBA.

He could make an amazing vertical leap of 1.1 m off the ground. For such a leap to calculate the hang time(the time spent in the air after leaving the ground and before touching down again), we use the formula:

$S=ut -\frac{1}{2}gt^{2}$

Where S is the distance traveled, u is the initial velocity, t is the time taken and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

Given that:

g = 9.8 m/s²

S = $y_{f} -y_{i} =0-1.1=-1.1$

u = 0

$S=ut -\frac{1}{2}gt^{2}$

Substituting values:

$-1.1=(0)t -\frac{1}{2}(9.8)t^{2}\\-1.1=0-4.9t^{2} \\-1.1=-4.9t^{2}$

Dividing through by -4.9 we get:

$\frac{-1.1}{-4.9} =\frac{-4.9}{-4.9}t^{2}$

$t^{2}=0.2245\\ t=\sqrt{0.2245}=0.474$

t = 0.474 s

The hang time = 2t = 2 × 0.474 = 0.95 s

The hang time is 0.95 s