THE PROJECTILE MOTION OF AN ELEVATED BALL

Prepared by:

Galanga, James

Gealon, Richelle Faith B.

Isnain, Erich

BSED 2A
INTRODUCTION

In the time of Archimedes, the motion of projectile known to mankind is an example of

two-dimensional motion. Particularly, this motion is defined by the direction of launch

accompanying with a vertical plan motion. For an instance, if motion occurs close to the surface

of Earth and an air resistance is neglected; a uniform acceleration happens to a projected body

along with the vertical direction and a uniform velocity along the horizontal direction. This study

mainly focuses on the projectile motion of a released and elevated ball. Projectile motion is

define as the motion of an object that has been launched and is subject to only the force of

gravity and the force of air friction. After the initial force that launches the object, it only

experiences the force of gravity, the object is called a projectile, and its path is called its

trajectory. Moreover, in projectile motion, the horizontal motion and the vertical motion are

independent of each other; that is, neither motion affects the other. This is the principle of

compound motion established by Galileo in 1638, and used by him to prove the parabolic form

of projectile motion.

In this paper, an experiment was conducted to compute the time of fall of a released

object from an elevated surface. Moreover, this experiment also includes computation of the

velocity of the projectile and the range it covered given the time of flight

HYPOTHESIS

The time of fall can be computed with an object that is released with a known elevation

and with known time of flight, the computation of the velocity of a projectile and range is

possible.

METHODOLOGY
EXPERIMENT LOCALE

This experiment was done in the residential house of one of the proponents located at 3rd

Road Candido, Don Alfaro street, Tetuan.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The materials needed for this experiment is a Metal ball, stopwatch and a meter stick.

The general procedure for this experiment will start by elevating one end of the table and release

the ball from the top of the inclined plane. Then, the distance (x) covered by the rolling ball

starting from the foot of the plane to the edge of the table is measured using meter stick. After

that, the time, t1, it takes for the ball to travel this distance is recorded. This was done three

times (three trials) and the average value was also computed. Also, the Vox is determined. At this

point, the ball is release again and let it land on the floor. Now, the actual range of the projectile

from the point is measured horizontally down where the ball was released, to where the marks

are close together. This was also done three times and the average was also calculated. Lastly,

the actual height of the table is measured as the height of fall. The recorded data was tabulated

and analyzed.

Figure 1. The actual illustration of the Experiment.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The observations and results taken from the experiment were tabulated in the table below.

Trials Time, t1

1 1.15s

2 1.19s

3 1.13s

Average 1.16s

Table 1. The time to it takes for the ball to travel the distance from the foot of the plane to
the edge of the table.
 In table 1, this shows the time it takes for the ball to travel the distance from the foot of

the plane to the edge of the table where the plane is place at angle of 45º. The average was also

calculated which is 1.16 second. These data is used to calculate the horizontal displacement and

Vxo. The results for the calculation are shown in the table 3.

Trials Distance Time, t2

1 0.43 m 0.34 s
2 0.46 m 0.35 s
3 0.46 m 0.34 s
Average 0.45 m 0.34 s
Table 2. The distance and time it takes for the ball to travel from the edge of the table to
the landing point

In table 2, this shows the distance and time it takes for the ball to travel from the edge of

the table to the landing point or the point where the ball reached the floor. These data will be

specifically used to find the ymax, measured horizontal distance, calculated horizontal distance,

and the percentage error which is tabulated in the table 4. This is mainly to know the projectile

motion of the ball.

Trials Horizontal Displacement, dx Time, t1 Vx0

1 1.0005 m 1.15s 0.87 m/s
2 0.9996 m 1.19s 0.84 m/s
3 0.9944 m 1.13s 0.88 m/s

Average 0.9982 m 1.16s 0.86 m/s

Table 3. Horizontal Displacement and Vx0

In order to supplement the needed data for table 3 the initial velocity is calculated using

the formula Vi = d/t; where the distance is 1 meter and the time is based from table 1.
 In table 3, the Horizontal Displacement (dx) was calculated using the formula dx =

(Vix)(t). This is to know the range Vx0 from the first, second, and third trial; which was then

solve for the average. The time (t1) is from the data of table 1. Lastly, the Vx0 is calculated

using the formula Vx0 = V0 where the theta is 0 and the average is also calculated.

Trials Ymax t2 Xe Xc % error

1 0.76 m 0.34s 0.43 m 0.43 m 0

2 0.76 m 0.35s 0.46 m 0.46 m 0

3 0.76 m 0.34s 0.46 m 0.46 m 0

Average 0.76 m 0.34s 0.45 m 0.45 m 0

Table 4. The Ymax, Xe, Xc, and percentage error

In table 4, the Ymax, measured horizontal distance, calculated horizontal distance, and

the percentage error are calculated. In order to find the Ymax, the height of the table was used.

The time is taken from table 2. The Xe is measured from the horizontal distance between

launching and landing points. The Xc is calculated using the formula Xc = Vo )t where

the theta is 0. In the calculation of percentage error, the formula % error = is used;

this is to compare how accurate the measured horizontal distance compared to the calculated

horizontal distance. According to the percentage given by the % error, it is completely accurate

since all the results are 0.

As a need computation for this investigation, the Vx is calculated using the formula

Vx = V where the distance is from the table 2’s average distance and the time is from

table 2’s average time.

Horizontal velocity component:

Vx = V

Vx = (1.32 m/s)

Vx = 1.32 m/s

CONCLUSION

With the calculations and data being used in the experiment, the hypothesis of this

investigation is accepted and proven as the the time of fall can be computed with an object that is

released with a known elevation and with known time of flight, the computation of the velocity

of a projectile and range is possible.

TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1. The actual illustration of the Experiment.

The observations and results taken from the experiment were tabulated in the table below.

Trials Time, t1

1 1.15s

2 1.19s

3 1.13s

Average 1.16s

Table 1. The time to it takes for the ball to travel the distance from the foot of the plane to
the edge of the table at 45º

Trials Distance Time, t2

1 0.43 m 0.34 s
2 0.46 m 0.35 s
3 0.46 m 0.34 s
Average 0.45 m 0.34 s
Table 2. The distance and time it takes for the ball to travel from the edge of the table to
the landing point

Trials Horizontal Displacement, dx Time, t1 Vx0

1 1.0005 m 1.15s 0.87 m/s

2 0.9996 m 1.19s 0.84 m/s

3 0.9944 m 1.13s 0.88 m/s

Average 0.9982 m 1.16s 0.86 m/s

Table 3. Horizontal Displacement and Vx0

Trials Ymax t2 Xe Xc % error

1 0.76 m 0.34s 0.43 m 0.43 m 0

2 0.76 m 0.35s 0.46 m 0.46 m 0

3 0.76 m 0.34s 0.46 m 0.46 m 0

Average 0.76 m 0.34s 0.45 m 0.45 m 0

Table 4. The Ymax, Xe, Xc, and percentage error

REFERENCES

Projectile motion (n.d.). Webassign. Retrieved from

http://www.wenbassign.net/question_assets/unccolphysmechl1/lab_3/manual.html.

Wikipedia contributors.(n.d.). Projectile motion. Wikipedia. Retrieved from

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projectile_motion.

Projectile motion (n.d.). Study.com. Retrieved from

http://study.com/academy/lesson/projectile-motion-experiment.html

Projectile motion (n.d.).Mansfieldct. Retrieved from

http://www.mansfieldct.org/Schools/MMS/staff/hand/Projectilemotion.html