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Time in the Air

Part of the Mechanics section of Coddy's Physics journey. Lesson 31 of 94.

Caught at the same height, the ball takes as long to come down as to go up:

t_air = 2 v0 / g

A height-time graph of the ball: a symmetric arch rising from 0 to 19.6 metres at 2 seconds and returning to 0 at 4 seconds

Up and down take the same time: 2 s each, 4 s in the air.

At every height the speed is the same going up and coming down. The ball comes back with the launch speed pointing down: v = -v0.

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Challenge

A juggler throws a ball straight up at 14.7 m/s and catches it at the same height. Taking up as positive, find the time t the ball spends in the air.

Try it yourself

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This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

All lessons in Mechanics