EXPERIMENT NO.

6
PROJECTILE MOTION
Name: _______________________________________ Group No.: _______________________
Year & Section: ________________________________ Instructor’s Signature: ______________

I. Objective:

To observe the motion of an object projected horizontally and to determine the initial horizontal
velocity.

II. Apparatus and Materials:

Metal ball, meter stick, protractor (big), wooden plane, iron stand with iron clamp, table

III. Theory:

For an object moving freely near the earth’s surface, if its initial direction is not exactly up or
down, gravity will cause its path to be curved rather than straight. This curve path is called a
trajectory and the motion of an object that follows this path is called a projectile motion.

The horizontal and vertical aspects of the projectile’s flight are independent of each other.
During the flight, the horizontal velocity component remains constant since air resistance is being
neglected and the vertical velocity component is increasing (meaning the projectile falls faster and
faster until the ground is reached) due to the pull of gravity. The projectile’s vertical motion is
uniformly accelerated.

Calculate the following quantities

1. Experimental Initial Horizontal Velocity (Vi x E )

a. Vi x E =Vf x E
R
b. Vf x E=
t'
where:
Vix = initial horizontal velocity component (m/s)
Vfx = final horizontal velocity component (m/s)
 R = horizontal displacement/range (m)
t’ = time measured using stopwatch/timer (s)
2. Theoretical Initial Horizontal Velocity (Vix T)
a. Vi x T =Vf x T
R
b. Vf x T =
t

where:
Vix = initial horizontal velocity component (cm3)
Vfx = final horizontal velocity component (cm3)
R = horizontal displacement/range (m)
2y 2h
t =
√ √
g
or
g

3. Percent Error (E)

a. %Diff =[ ( Vi x T −Vi x E ) /Vi x T +Vi x E /2 ] ×100

where:
Vix = initial horizontal velocity component (m/s)
Vfx = final horizontal velocity component (m/s)
R = horizontal displacement/range (m)
t = time of travel/flight/in air (s)

IV. Procedure:

1. Set up the apparatuses as shown in the Figure shown, you may put scotch tape between the
iron clamps to ensure that the wooden plane won’t slip forward.
2. Measure the height of the table surface from the floor.
3. Let the ball roll down the inclined plane, then on the table surface, and off the table edge.
4. Measure the ball’s time of flight from the table edge to the point on the floor where it strikes
using a stopwatch.
5. Mark the exact point on the floor where the ball strikes (with a chalk) and measure the
horizontal displacement/range from below the table edge to the point where the ball strikes.
6. Have several trials as needed in order to measure an accurate time of flight.

V. Data and Results:

Table
T R VixE VixT %E
TRIAL
(s) (m) (m/s) (m/s) (%)
1
2
3
4
5
 Average          

VI. Questions:

1. Three balls are thrown simultaneously at the same speed from the rooftop. Ball A is thrown
vertically upward, ball B is thrown horizontally, and ball C is thrown vertically downward.
a. Do the balls reach the ground at the same time? If not, in which order do they reach the
ground?

b. Do the balls have the same speed when they reach the ground? If not, what is the order
of their speeds?

2. Find the range of an arrow that leaves a bow at 50m/s at an angle of 50 o above the horizontal.

3. A ball is thrown horizontally at 12m/s, 20m above the ground. Find its time of flight and the
horizontal range.

VII. Analysis of Data:

VIII.Conclusion: