Question

In shot put, the shot is put (thrown) from above the athlete’s shoulder level. Is the launch angle that produces the greatest range$\mathbf{45}\mathbf{°}$, less than$\mathbf{45}\mathbf{°}$, or greater than$\mathbf{45}\mathbf{°}$?

Short answer

The launch angle that produces the greatest range is always less than$45°$

Step-by-step solution

To understand the concept

This problem is based on the concept of projectile motion. When a particle is thrown near the earth’s surface, it travels along a curved path under constant acceleration directed towards the center of the earth surface. This is a projectile motion problem, which contains two independent motions.

Is the launch angle that produces the greatest range 45° , less than 45° , or greater than 45°  

In shot-putting, the athlete tries to project the shot as far as possible while remaining within the confines of the throwing circle. When shot is thrown with higher angle, the efforts of the athletes are also put in to support the weight of the shot and that would give smaller efforts to accelerate the shot in the horizontal direction. For a projectile that is projected with constant speed from the ground level, the optimum release angle that maximizes the horizontal range is always less than$45°$ . Structure of human body is such that it produces more force or efforts through the upper part of the body, so it is possible to generate more speed in the horizontal direction through the upper part of the body than putting the shot in vertical direction. To achieve the greatest flight distance, the athlete must project the shot with the optimum combination of release speed, angle and height. The launch angle is less important than the speed, but substantial deviations from the optimum release angle may have adverse effect on an athlete’s performance. Hence the launch angle would be always less than$45°$but not substantially lesser than this value.

Thus, the launch angle that produces the greatest range is always less than$45°$ .