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Projectile motion on an inclined

misty surface: I. Capturing and
analysing the trajectory
S Y Ho1,3 , S K Foong2 , C H Lim1,4 , C C Lim1 , K Lin1,5 and
L Kuppan1,2
1
Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, National Institute of Education,
Nanyang Technological University, 1, Nanyang Walk, 637616, Singapore
2
Natural Sciences and Science Education, National Institute of Education,
Nanyang Technological University, 1, Nanyang Walk, 637616, Singapore

Abstract
Projectile motion is usually the first non-uniform two-dimensional motion
that students will encounter in a pre-university physics course. In this article,
we introduce a novel technique for capturing the trajectory of projectile
motion on an inclined Perspex plane. This is achieved by coating the Perspex
with a thin layer of fine water droplets that allows the projectile to leave a
trail as it passes. The experiment was field-tested in Singapore and the
response was very good.

Introduction To achieve the above, an experiment is

Projectile motion is usually the first non-
uniform two-dimensional motion that students will
encounter in a pre-university physics course. On
the basis of their experience in everyday life, such
as from watching football and baseball games,
most students are able to ascribe the parabolic
shape to the trajectory of a projectile. Their
laboratory experiences with projectile motion are
usually limited to watching class demonstrations
or pre-recorded stroboscopic videos of projectile
motions. Consequently, students rarely have an
opportunity to carry out a systematic study in order
to appreciate the relationship between parameters
of the projectile (such as angle of projection, initial
velocity) and both the range and the maximum
height of the motion.
3
Present address: Department of Physics, University of
Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A7, Canada.
4 Present address: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd,
5 Toh Tuck Link, 596224, Singapore.
5 Present address: Jesus College, Cambridge University, UK.
designed to capture the full trajectory of the
projectile motion in order for students to study
these relationships. While video cameras
and digital cameras have become common and
cheaper, aligning the cameras to capture the full
path of the projectile on its two-dimensional plane
is not easy at all. Moreover, measurements of
actual distances on the captured images may also
be a challenge.
In this article, we introduce a logistically
simpler and inexpensive alternative inspired by the
cloud chamber. Essentially, instead of launching
the projectile in a vertical plane, it is launched up
along an inclined Perspex plane which is coated
with a thin layer of fine water droplets. The
projectile, which is a steel ball, slides and leaves
a trail as it passes. Although there have been many
diverse studies on the subject of projectile motion
in physics education literature (see [1–14]), we are
not aware of any student experiment that uses a
similar technique.

0031-9120/09/030253+05$30.00 © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd PHYSICS EDUCATION 44 (3) 253

S Y Ho et al
and setting x = R/2 in equation (3) gives the
inclined plane maximum height H of the projectile as
 2
u
y H= sin2 θ. (5)
trajectory 2g 
u
H
θ x
R Preparation for the experiment
Figure 1. Projectile motion on an inclined plane.
Figure 2 is a photograph of the actual experimental
setup and it shows the material and equipment
needed for the experiment. The main items are:
A brief review of theory (a) A Perspex sheet as the inclined plane.
If air resistance is negligible, the motion of a (Width: 650 mm; height: 500 mm.)
projectile in a vertical plane can be modelled using (b) A 1 cm interval grid printed on sheets of
constant horizontal velocity and constant vertical white paper.
acceleration due to gravity g . Its trajectory is a (c) An enlarged half-protractor (0◦ –90◦ ) printed
parabola. Likewise, a projectile on an inclined on white paper.
plane can be modelled using constant horizontal (d) A small steel ball-bearing (about 10 mm in
velocity and the component of g along the inclined diameter) as the projectile.
plane given by (e) A ‘press-down’ type of ball-point pen as the
launcher.
g  = g sin φ (f) A small piece of copper foil.
(g) A device which can be used to coat a thin
where φ is the angle of elevation of the inclined layer of fine water droplets on the Perspex.
plane, as illustrated in figure 1. If friction is We have been using a steam sanitizer
negligible and the projectile slides freely on the (steamer) for this purpose. A junior college
plane, its trajectory is again a parabola. In which has adopted this experiment uses a
other words, the projectile motion on the inclined water sprayer instead. We have
plane is effectively the usual projectile motion independently verified that this also produces
in a vertical plane in space but with a ‘diluted’ good results.
gravity.
If we fix the origin, and the x and y axes on The layout is as shown in figure 2. Extra
the inclined surface as shown, then at any instant caution is required when handling the weights
of time t after the projectile is launched with initial which are near the edge of the table and directing
velocity u at an angle of projection θ to the x the steamer away from the body when it is in
axis, the position of the projectile on the inclined operation. The grid and the protractor have
surface is given by been designed to allow measurements to be made
easily. The launcher can be improvised using other
x = (u cos θ )t, (1) equipment. In our case, the ‘press-down’ type of
ball-point pen and ball-bearing setup give a typical
y = (u sin θ )t − 12 g  t 2 . (2) launching speed of about 1.5 m s−1 .
By eliminating t from equations (1) and (2),
we obtain the equation for the parabolic trajectory Procedure
which is (1) Clean the Perspex sheet so that it is free of
 
1 g dirt and stains, to reduce friction. Set the
y = (tan θ )x − x 2. (3) angle of inclination φ of the Perspex sheet at
2 u 2 cos2 θ
about 40◦ , as shown in figure 3. (This angle
On setting y = 0, the non-zero solution of of inclination is found to make use of the
equation (3) gives the range R of the projectile as board area in an optimal way—if the angle is
 2 more gentle, the ball might be shot beyond
u the length of the board; if it is too steep, the
R= sin 2θ, (4)
g full length of the board is not used.)

254 PHYSICS EDUCATION May 2009


Figure 2. Photograph of the actual experimental setup. The pen launcher, which is held by hand in the actual
experiment, is taped onto the board for illustration purposes.
(2) Fill the steamer with water, let the water boil
and then direct the jet of steam from the
sanitizer at the surface of the Perspex from a
distance of about 5 cm away until a thin and
even layer of fine water droplets covers the
whole surface of the Perspex. Note that
excessive heat from the steam will cause the
Perspex to bend.
(3) When the ball-bearing is launched, it leaves
its trail as it passes on the surface of the
Perspex, showing the trajectory of the
projectile motion as shown in figure 4. The
values of R and H can then be read off the
scale.
(4) The surface of Perspex is wiped clean with
tissue paper, a new layer of steam is applied
and a new launch is repeated with a different
angle of projection. Alternatively, another
trial can be made and the two trajectories can
be compared.
Results
To verify equations (4) and (5), we plot R against
sin 2θ in figure 5 and H against sin2 θ in figure 6.
The data are least squares fitted. The squares
of the correlation coefficients for the fits are
respectively 0.9915 and 0.9991. As expected
from the equations, the gradient obtained from
figure 6 is about half that of figure 5, to within
May 2009
Projectile motion on an inclined misty surface: I
track left by
steel ball
condensation on
Perspex surface
u
θ x
H
R
Figure 3. A schematic sketch of the experimental
set-up.
4% difference. The initial velocities obtained from
figures 5 and 6 are 1.45 m s−1 and 1.48 m s−1
respectively.
Discussion
The setup has been designed with a grid on
the Perspex and an enlarged protractor to make
measurements easy and accurate. The values of
the correlation coefficient squared are very close to
1. This suggests that the experimental data follow
the form of equations (4) and (5). This is further
supported by the consistent values of the initial
velocity obtained from figures 5 and 6. The design
of the experiment fulfils the objective of allowing
students to study the relationship between the
angle of projection and both the range and the
maximum height of the motion with relative ease.
This experiment was used in a field-test
in Singapore involving a total of 169 students
PHYSICS EDUCATION 255
S Y Ho et al

Figure 4. A typical track left by the steel ball-bearing on the Perspex surface.

φ = 40° φ = 40°
0.4
y = 0.3331x + 0.002 y = 0.1731x + 0.0018
R2 = 0.9915 0.16 R2 = 0.9991
0.3
0.12

0.2
0.08

0.1
0.04

0.0 0.00
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Figure 5. The range R as a function of angle of Figure 6. The maximum height H as a function of
projection. From equation (4) and the gradient of the angle of projection. From equation (5) and the
graph, the initial velocity of the projectile is gradient of the graph, the initial velocity of the
1.45 m s–1. projectile is 1.48 m s–1.

taking GCE (General Certificate of Education,
Cambridge) A-level physics and 13 teachers from
two junior colleges. It was also introduced to
about 50 teachers in an in-service course, in
2007 and 2008. Surveys were carried out and
the response was very good. The analysis and
results have recently been reported in [15]. In a
sequel to this paper [16] motivated by enhancing
students’ experience, a simple modification to the
experiment and an extended analysis of the angle
of projection to ‘hit any target’ placed on the
surface of the inclined plane are presented.
A senior teacher adapted the experiment for
use in his school. He captured the trajectory using
carbon paper instead of the thin coat of fine water
droplets used here. The carbon paper used should
be of the ‘soft’ variety meant for duplicating hand-
written work rather than the ‘hard’ type meant for
typewritten work. The trail on the carbon paper
would also be clearer if the steel ball was of larger
mass (more than 4 g) than the 10 mm diameter
one used in the experiment. Also, using carbon
paper requires a smaller angle for the inclined
plane. Our setup is less limited in these respects
and allows a greater range of parameters for the
projectile motion to be used.
Conclusion
Our idea of capturing the trajectory using a thin
layer of fine water droplets on a Perspex grid
has been proven to be logistically simple and
economical in the case of projectile motion on

256 PHYSICS EDUCATION May 2009


an inclined plane. The measurements can also
be easily and accurately obtained. This concept
can also be easily extended to other physics
experiments where measurements of the trajectory
are required to test a physical theory or model. We
believe that such experiments will greatly enhance
the learning experience.
Acknowledgment
This research was funded by a grant (CRP 49/03
FSK) from the Centre for Research in Pedagogy
and Practice, National Institute of Education,
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Received 31 July 2008, in final form 5 December 2008
doi:10.1088/0031-9120/44/3/004
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May 2009
Projectile motion on an inclined misty surface: I
[16] Foong S K, Lim C C and Kuppan L 2009
Projectile motion on an inclined misty surface:
II. Scoring a goal Phys. Educ. 44 258
S Y Ho is currently a PhD student at the
University of Toronto, Canada, and his
area of research is in quantum many body
physics. Before this, he taught at Hwa
Chong Junior College and headed the
physics unit. One of his interests is in
finding ways to simplify the teaching of
difficult concepts in physics.
S K Foong is an associate professor in
natural sciences and science education at
the National Institute of Education,
Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore. He obtained his PhD in
physics from the University of Texas at
Austin under the supervision of Professor
Bryce DeWitt. His research interests
include theoretical and interdisciplinary
physics as well as physics education.
C H Lim obtained his MSc degree from
the National Institute of Education,
Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore, in 2003. He worked as a
teaching assistant for the pre-university
physics programme (SM2) at the Institute
before joining World Scientific as an
editor in 2004.
C C Lim taught physics in high school in
the early 1980s. He obtained his masters
degree in civil engineering from Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University
(Virginia Tech), USA, and then worked
as a civil engineer in the area of
geotechnical and transportation
engineering for 16 years before joining
the National Institute of Education,
Singapore, in 2004.
K Lin is an associate consultant working
for a management consultancy
Analysys Mason, specializing in
telecommunications. He graduated from
Cambridge University with an MSc in
physics, and was a research and teaching
assistant in Cambridge University and in
Harvard University. He carried out a brief
research assignment at the Institute of
Physics, China Academy of Sciences, as
an exchange/visiting student.
L Kuppan is an academic associate at
the Republic Polytechnic, Singapore, and
carries out problem-based learning
through the One Day, One ProblemTM
method. His research areas include
science education and quantum physics.
He recently obtained a PhD degree for his
thesis in quantum field theory from the
National Institute of Education, Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore.
PHYSICS EDUCATION 257