Choose the false statement about a fly ball as it travels from a batter's bat to a center fielder who catches the ball. a. the ball speeds up as it falls. b. gravity affects the ball the entire time it is in flight. c. the ball continually slows down as it rises to its highest point. d. drag affects the ball's speed only on its way up to its highest point.

A, B, and C are true statements.

D is the false statement.

the velocity you are looking for is made up of two parts: horizontally velocity, vh, and its vertical velocity, vv. the actual velocity of the ball will be these two parts added together, and because velocity is a vector then they will need to be added vectorially.  

neglecting air resistance etc etc.,  

the horizontal velocity component will be constant (because there is no accelerating force in the horizontal direction.  

vh = 8 ms-1  

the vertical velocity component has an accelerating force: 'g'.  

using v = u +at where a = g = 9.81 ms-2.  

the vertical component of velocity, vv = 0 + gt = vv =9.81 x 2  

vv = 19.62 ms-1 . the zero appears because the virtical component of velocity at time t=0 is zero. remember, the ball was thrown horizontally.  

how fast it will be moving (it actual path (being a parabola )) will be the vector sum of these two.  

adding vectorally gives: -  

v = sqr root (8^2 + 19.62^2) = sqr root(64+384.9) = 21.18 or 21.2 ms-1

no simpler subs form complex ones. synthesise = make