Projectile Motion

Outline

 What is a projectile
 Characteristics of a projectile's motion
 Horizontal and vertical components of
velocity and displacement
 Initial velocity components
What is a projectile?

 A projectile is an object upon which the only force

acting is gravity. A projectile is any object which once
projected or dropped continues in motion by its own
inertia and is influenced only by the downward force of
gravity.
 Projectile Motion and Inertia


Horizontal and Vertical Velocities

A projectile is any object upon which the only force is gravity,



Projectiles travel with a parabolic trajectory due to the influence of

gravity,
There are no horizontal forces acting upon projectiles and thus no
horizontal acceleration,
The horizontal velocity of a projectile is constant (a never changing
value),
There is a vertical acceleration caused by gravity; its value is 9.8


m/s/s, down,
The vertical velocity of a projectile changes by 9.8 m/s each second,


The horizontal motion of a projectile is independent of its vertical



motion.
Vector diagrams for projectile motion
TIME HORIZONTAL VELOCITY VERTICAL VELOCITY
0s 73.1 m/s, right 19.6 m/s, up
1s 73.1 m/s, right 9.8 m/s, up
2s 73.1 m/s, right 0 m/s
3s 73.1 m/s, right 9.8 m/s, down
4s 73.1 m/s, right 19.6 m/s, down
5s 73.1 m/s, right 29.4 m/s, down
6s 73.1 m/s, right 39.2 m/s, down
7s 73.1 m/s, right 49.0 m/s, down
Horizontal and vertical displacement –
Horizontally Launched Projectile
If the horizontal displacement (x) of a projectile were
represented by an equation, then that equation would be
written as
x = vix • t

y = 0.5 • g • t2
(equation for vertical displacement for a horizontally
launched projectile)
Displacement diagram of projectile motion

Horizontal Vertical
TIME DISPLACEMENT DISPLACEMENT
0s 0m 0m
1s 20 m -4.9 m
2s 40 m -19.6 m
3s 60 m -44.1 m
4s 80 m -78.4 m
5s 100 m -122.5 m
Horizontal and vertical displacement : Non -
Horizontally Launched Projectile

y = viy • t + 0.5 • g • t2
(equation for vertical displacement for an
angled-launched projectile)

If the horizontal displacement (x) of a projectile were

represented by an equation, then that equation would be
written as
x = vix • t
Evaluating various info

 Determination of the Time of Flight

Time of flight= { 2vsin theta}/g

 Determination of Horizontal Displacement

x = vx * t
 Peak Height
( v^2sin^2 theta )/ 2g
the vertical acceleration of a projectile is known to be -9.8 m/s/s
Equations of motion

 Horizontal motion

 Vertical Motion
 Solving Projectile Motion Problems
 The following procedure summarizes the above problem-solving
approach.
 Carefully read the problem and list known and unknown
information in terms of the symbols of the kinematic equations.
For convenience sake, make a table with horizontal information
on one side and vertical information on the other side.
 Identify the unknown quantity which the problem requests you to
solve for.
 Select either a horizontal or vertical equation to solve for the
time of flight of the projectile.
 With the time determined, use one of the other equations to
solve for the unknown. (Usually, if a horizontal equation is used
to solve for time, then a vertical equation can be used to solve
for the final unknown quantity.)
 The Problem-Solving Approach
The following procedure summarizes the above problem-solving approach.

 Use the given values of the initial velocity (the magnitude and the angle) to determine
the horizontal and vertical components of the velocity (vix and viy).

 Carefully read the problem and list known and unknown information in terms of the
symbols of the kinematic equations. For convenience sake, make a table with
horizontal information on one side and vertical information on the other side.

 Identify the unknown quantity which the problem requests you to solve for.

 Select either a horizontal or vertical equation to solve for the time of flight of the
projectile. For non-horizontally launched projectiles, the second equation listed among
the vertical equations (vfy = viy + ay*t) is usually the most useful equation.

 With the time determined, use a horizontal equation (usually x = vix*t + 0.5*ax*t2 ) to
determine the horizontal displacement of the projectile.

 Finally, the peak height of the projectile can be found using a time value which one-
half the total time of flight. The most useful equation for this is usually y = viy*t
+0.5*ay*t2 .
Thank you