Book 28, Question 1
What shape does a thrown ball's path make?
A ball thrown through the air follows a curved arch called a parabola.
Gravity keeps pulling it down at the same rate, while its forward motion carries it ahead. The two motions combine into a smooth curve that rises, peaks, and falls. Air slows the ball a little, so a real path is slightly lopsided, but the arch shape is almost the same for a basketball or a baseball.