Answer to Question #134831 in Physics for Joeanthony

Question

If the tennis ball were in contact with the ground for 0.0147 s, find the acceleration given to the tennis ball by the ground.

Answer 1

The acceleration is how fast speed of an object changes:

$$a=\frac{v_f-v_i}{t}=\frac{v_f-v_i}{0.0147}.$$

Notice: we need to know the initial and final velocities of the ball to find the value of acceleration. Be careful: if the ball rebounded, its initial velocity should be taken with a negative sign so that finally, in the numerator we add the magnitudes of velocities.