Free Fall and

Projectile
Motion
Mechanics
In Newtonian physics, free fall is any
motion of a body where gravity is the
only force acting upon it.

An object in the technical sense of the

term "free fall" may not necessarily be
falling down in the usual sense of the term.
An object moving upwards would not
normally be considered to be falling, but if
it is subject to the force of gravity only, it is
said to be in free fall. The moon is thus in
free fall.
Example:
›A bullet fired straight
upwards
›A satellite in stationary orbit
›A cannonball shot from a
cannon
 FREE FALL
› No air resistance.
› a = g = -9.81 m/s2 (≈-10 m/s2 )
› Dropped Vi = 0 m/s
› Thrown straight up
Vf = 0 m/s (at the top)
V(leaves hand) = +5 m/s
V(comes back to hand) = -5 m/s
› Time to the top = Time to come back
down.
Richard was mad at his sister so he took her
iPhone and dropped it out the window of his third
story bedroom. If the bedroom window is 8.75
meters above the ground, determine the time
required for the iPhone to reach the ground.

8.75 m
 Richard was mad at his sister so he took her iPhone and
dropped it out the window of his third story bedroom. If the
bedroom window is 8.75 meters above the ground, determine
the time required for the iPhone to reach the ground.

Vi = 0 m/s
Vf = -
ΔY = -8.75 m
a = -9.81 m/s2
T=?
› King kong falls off from the empire state
building which is about 380 meters high.
How long does it take to hit the ground
and at what speed?
› A car rolls gently off a cliff and takes 12.5
second to hit the ground. How high is the
cliff? What is the final velocity just before it
hits the ground? How long does it take the
car to reach a speed of 57 m/s?
› A ball is thrown straight into the air with a
speed of 28 m/s. How high does it go and
how long is it in the air?
› A cat jumps to a vertical height of 3.5
meters. How long is it in the air?
› John throws a ball vertically upward into
the air and catches it 4.2 seconds later.
With what initial speed did he throw it and
what maximum height did it reach?
› A rock is thrown vertically upward with a
velocity of 24 m/s. How fast is it moving
when it reaches a height of 15 meters.
How long does it take it to reach that
height?
› A rock is dropped from a cliff into the sea
and the sound is heard 2.6 seconds later.
If the speed of sound is 340 m/s, how high
is the cliff?
› A falling stone takes 0.25 seconds to travel
past a 2 meter tall window. From what
height above the top of the window did
the stone fall from?
› A stone is thrown vertically upward with a
speed of 16 m/s from a 100m cliff. When
will the stone hit the ground? What speed
will it have just before it hits the ground?
What is the total distance that the stone
travels?
Projectile Motion
› We often experience many kinds of
motions in our daily life. Projectile
motion is one among them. A
projectile is some object thrown in
air or space. The Curved path along
which the projectile travels is what is
known as trajectory.

› Projectile
Motion is the free fall
motion of any body in a horizontal
path with constant velocity.
Formula
Constant Speed Constant Acceleration

𝑑 = 𝑣𝑡 𝑣/* = 𝑣𝑦( + 𝑔𝑡
𝑉𝑦𝑓 4 = 𝑉𝑦𝑜4 + 2𝑔𝑑
𝑣( + 𝑣* 1
𝑣%&' = 𝑑 = 𝑣/( + 𝑣/* t
2 2
𝑑 = 𝑣%&' 𝑡
𝑑 = 𝑥* − 𝑥( 1 4
𝑑 = 𝑣/( 𝑡 + 𝑔𝑡
2
Horizontal Trajectory
Formula
9
𝐻 = 𝑎𝑡 4 (Height)
4

𝑅 = 𝑣< 𝑡 (Range)

𝑣/* = 𝑣/( + 𝑎/ 𝑡 (Final y-velocity)

𝑣 = 𝑣< 2 + 𝑣/ 2 (velocity)

/
𝜃 = tan −1 (Angle)
<
 Kicked off from the ground
B

A C
Formula
& ABC D
𝑡 = (time A to B)
'

4 & ABC D
𝑡 = (time A to C)
'

& F ABC D F
ℎ = (Maximum Height
4'

& F ABC(4D)
𝑅 = (Range)
'
Launched at an angle

B
A

C
 Formula
9
𝑦* = 𝑦( + 𝑣/( 𝑡 + 𝑔𝑡 4 (time-height)
4

IJ± J F IL%M
𝑡= (time via quadratic)
4%

& ABC D
𝑡 = (time A to B)
'

4(/IN%<)
𝑡= (time B to C)
'

𝑅 = 𝑣< 𝑡 (Range)
A ball rolls horizontally off a cliff at 20 m/s. It takes
10 seconds for it to hit the ground. Calculate the
height of the cliff and the horizontal distance
travelled by the ball.
A ball rolls off a cliff that is 200m high.
Calculate the time it takes for the ball to hit
the ground.
A soccer ball is kicked horizontally from
the roof of a building 150m tall and
lands about 200m from the base of the
building. Calculate the initial speed of
the ball.
A soccer ball is kicked off the
ground at an angle of 40 degrees
traveling at a speed of 47 m/s. (1)
Find the maximum height that the
ball will reach. (2) Find the time it
will take to hit the ground. (3) Find
the horizontal distance or range
traveled by the ball.
A ball is kicked off the ground
reaching a maximum height of
60m and lands 80m away.
Calculate the initial speed V and
the angle above the horizontal of
the ball when it was kicked.
A runner jumps off the ground
at a speed of 16m/s. At what
angle did he jump from the
ground if he landed 8 meters
away.
A golf ball is hit at an angle of
42 degrees and travels 245m.
What was the initial speed of
the ball?
A ball is launched from a 300m
cliff and lands 380m away
from the base of the cliff in 9
seconds. Calculate the initial
speed and the angle of the
ball when it was launched.
A ball is kicked from a 175m cliff at a
speed of 40m/s at an angle of 30
degrees. (1) Find the maximum height
of the ball above the ground. (2) Find
the time it takes for the ball to hit the
ground. (3) Find the horizontal and
vertical components of the ball's
velocity just before it hits the ground.
(4) Find the final speed and the angle
of the just before it reaches the ground.
A projectile is launched from a
cliff 100 meters above level
ground with a launch velocity
of 30 m/s and a launch angle
of 20 degrees above the
horizontal. Determine the
projectile’s (a) range, (b) peak
height, and (c) velocity at 2
seconds after launch.