Projectile Motion

Question 1: What is projectile motion? Give some examples of projectile motion

Answer:

The projectile motion of an object is the motion of an object that is launched into space.  When an object is launched into space, the only force that acts on it is gravity. There are also other forces like air resistance that act on a projectile, but their impact on it is minimal compared to gravity. Some real-life examples of a projectile are a javelin thrown by an athlete, a bullet fired from a gun, an arrow released from a bow, the launching of missiles, etc.

Question 2: What is a projectile and what is a trajectory?

Answer:

The object that is launched into space is known as a projectile, and the path traveled by it is called the trajectory of a projectile.

Question 3: Define Range.

Answer:

The distance between the point of projection (O) and the landing point (B) is called the horizontal range or range (R).

Question 4: How to find Vertical Velocity in projectile motion?

Answer:

The formula to determine velocity in the vertical direction after time “t” is given as follows:

Vertical Velocity (V_y) = u_y − gt

V_y = u sinθ − gt

where,
“V_y” is the Vertical velocity at time t,
“u” is the Initial velocity of the particle,
“θ” is the angle of projection,
“g” is the acceleration due to gravity, and
“t” is a time of flight.

Question 5: How to find horizontal velocity in projectile motion?

Answer:

The velocity along the horizontal direction remains the same throughout the entire projectile motion as the projectile will not experience acceleration in this direction as the acceleration due to gravity acts vertically down, i.e., the velocity in the X-direction at the time of its launch and landing is the same.

Horizontal velocity = V_x = u_x = u cos θ

where
“V_x” is the Horizontal velocity at time t,
“u” is the Initial velocity of the particle,
“θ” is the angle of projection.

Related Resources

• Projectile Motion
• Vertical Displacement in projectile motion
• Trajectory Formula

The projectile motion of an object is the motion of an object that is launched into space. The object that is launched into space is known as a projectile, and the path traveled by it is called the trajectory of a projectile. Some real-life examples of a projectile are a javelin thrown by an athlete, a bullet fired from a gun, an arrow released from a bow, the launching of missiles, etc. When an object is launched into space, the only force that acts on it is gravity. There are also other forces like air resistance that act on a projectile, but their impact on it is minimal compared to gravity. Some initial force must be imparted to an object for it to become a projectile and remember that the object tossed straight upward is not considered a projectile. When an object is launched into the air at an angle with respect to the horizontal and with an initial velocity, it travels in a curved path under the influence of acceleration due to gravity. The path of a projectile is a predictable path that has a parabolic shape. 

The above figure represents the projectile motion of an object that was launched at the point “O” (point of projection) with an initial velocity of “u” and at an angle θ. The object travels in a parabolic path and reaches a maximum height of “H” while being decelerated by gravity. As the object travels up, its vertical component of velocity decreases and becomes zero as it reaches maximum height, and then it will drop until it touches the ground due to gravitational pull. The distance between the point of projection (O) and the landing point (B) is called the range (R), and the time taken by the object to reach from O to B is called the time of flight.