Throwing events in track and field include the shot put, the discus throw, the
hammer throw, and the javelin throw. The distance that the athlete can achieve
depends on the initial speed of the object thrown and the angle above the
horizontal at which the object leaves the hand. This angle is represented by
\(\theta\) in the figure shown. The distance, \(d,\) in feet, that the athlete
throws is modeled by the formula
$$
d=\frac{v_{0}^{2}}{16} \sin \theta \cos \theta
$$
in which \(v_{0}\) is the initial speed of the object thrown, in feet per
second, and \(\theta\) is the angle, in degrees, at which the object leaves the
hand.
a. Use an identity to express the formula so that it contains the sine
function only.
b. Use your formula from part (a) to find the angle, \(\theta,\) that produces
the maximum distance, \(d,\) for a given initial speed, \(v_{0}\).