STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The goal of this problem is to contrast the motion of a golf ball ignoring lift with the motion considering lift. Lift is the net upward force on the golf ball produced by the rotational motion or spin of the ball through the air.

1) First, assuming that the only force acting on the golf ball is due to gravity (in particular, that there is no lift on the ball), determine the horizontal distance (range) that the ball will travel down a level greenway as a function of the launch angle given an initial launch speed of 58 m/sec.

2) The data below shows the actual distance a typical golf ball travels given an initial speed of 58 m/sec and a lift (due to the spin of the golf ball) as a function of the launch angle.

Input := 

data = {{2.5, 94}, {5, 126}, {7.5, 145},
	 	{10, 161}, {12.5, 170}, {15, 177}};

Input := 

TableForm[data,
	 TableHeadings -> {None, {"launch angle [degrees]",
	 					  "horizontal range [meters]"}},
	 TableAlignments -> Center]

Output =

   launch angle [degrees]   horizontal range [meters]
            2.5                        94

             5                         126

            7.5                        145

             10                        161

            12.5                       170

             15                        177

a) Fit the data to a curve. Graph the data and curve together and label the axes.

b) By comparing the graphs (with lift vs. without lift), decide which launch angle(s) affect the lift the greatest. the least. (Only compare over the range of the data -- that is, do not extrapolate with the curve fit.)