Determine the height of the baseball from the ground when it was hit, typically in feet. Write this value down as "h." For example, h = 3 ft.
Get the angle at which the baseball was hit in degrees. If it was hit straight in a horizontal direction, the angle would be 0. Write down the value as "a." For example, a = 20 degrees.
Gather the initial velocity of the baseball when it was hit, typically in miles per hour. For example, 100 mi/hr. Convert the value from miles per hour to feet per second with a conversion of 1 mi/hr = 1.46667 ft/sec. For example, 100 mi/hr = 146.67 ft/sec.
Use the following two parametric equations to describe the path of the baseball:
x = (v * cos a) * t
y = h + (v * sin a) * t - 16 * t^2
where "t" is time in seconds.
Substitute the numbers and simplify the equations. For example:
x = (146.67 ft/sec * 0.40808) * t
y = 3 ft + (146.67 ft/sec * 0.91295) * t - 16 * t^2
where "t" is in seconds.