Baseball Trajectory Simulation with Air Resistance

Overview

Modeled the trajectory of a 112 mph baseball launched at a 32° angle, comparing air-resistance and no-drag flight.

Approach

• Used MATLAB to calculate velocity, acceleration, position, and quadratic drag over 2,000 time intervals.
• Exported the data to Excel to identify maximum height, landing point, and flight duration.

Outcome

The drag model traveled 381 ft, reached 78.1 ft, and stayed airborne for 4.33 s; the no-drag comparison traveled roughly 740 ft.