Question

Apollo 14 astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. used an improvised six-iron to strike two golf balls while on the Fra Mauro region of the moon’s surface, making what some consider the longest golf drive in history. Assume one of the golf balls was struck with initial velocity v0 = 31.75 m/s at an angle θ = 26° above the horizontal. The gravitational acceleration on the moon’s surface is approximately 1/6 that on the earth’s surface. Use a Cartesian coordinate system with the origin at the ball's initial position.
Randomized Variables
vo 32.75 m/s
theta 32 degrees
What horizontal distance, R in meters, did this golf ball travel before returning to the lunar surface?

Answer 1

Complete Question

Apollo 14 astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. used an improvised six-iron to strike two golf balls while on the Fra Mauro region of the moon’s surface, making what some consider the longest golf drive in history. Assume one of the golf balls was struck with initial velocity v0 = 32.75 m/s at an angle θ = 32° above the horizontal. The gravitational acceleration on the moon’s surface is approximately 1/6 that on the earth’s surface. Use a Cartesian coordinate system with the origin at the ball's initial position.

Randomized Variables

vo 32.75 m/s

theta 32 degrees

What horizontal distance, R in meters, did this golf ball travel before returning to the lunar surface?

Answer:

The  horizontal distance is  $R = 590.2 \ m$  

Explanation:

From the question we are told that

 The initial  velocity is  $v_o = 32.75 \ m/s$

  The angle is  $\theta = 26^o$

  The gravitational acceleration of the moon is $g_m = \frac{1}{6} * 9.8 = 1.633 m/s^2$

 Generally the distance traveled is mathematically represented as

    $R = \frac{v_o^2 sin 2(\theta)}{g_m}$

=> $R = \frac{32.75^2 sin 2(32)}{1.633}$

=> $R = 590.2 \ m$