Laboratory 1

Projectile Motion

Students:
Abdulali Almabek
Serik Aitzhanov
Saida Boltabayeva

PHYS 161, Section 9

1. Objectives:
● Find initial velocity of the projectile motion
● Find the connection between the angle of ball launching position and the range of
landing point
● Analyse the experiment and determine possible errors

2. Experimental data:
The experiment was carried out by launching a ball in different angles of starting positions. The
following setup was used for this experiment (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Experimental setup

First of all, the ball was launched with the help of a projectile launcher at an angle of 25°
continuously for 10 times for getting more accurate data. The ball landed on a carbon paper put
on a clean paper to get the landing positions. Then the range was counted with a ruler for every
of the 10 launches. This was repeated for 35°, 45°, 55° and finally, 65°, 10 times for each as well.

We have derived the data given below in the table by setting up the experiment in the lab
1 video.
Table 1. Experimental data with systematic errors

№ of 25° Data 35° Data 45° Data 55° Data 65° Data Systematic
launch (Distance, (Distance, (Distance, (Distance, (Distance, Error(m)
m) m) m) m) m)

1 0.751 0.909 0.945 0.877 0.711

2 0.754 0.913 0.949 0.878 0.713

3 0.759 0.915 0.949 0.882 0.715

4 0.759 0.915 0.949 0.883 0.715

5 0.761 0.916 0.951 0.883 0.716 0.0005

6 0.761 0.916 0.951 0.883 0.717

7 0.762 0.918 0.952 0.885 0.719

8 0.764 0.919 0.953 0.885 0.720

9 0.769 0.924 0.953 0.887 0.726

10 0.771 0.926 0.955 0.887 0.732

Average(Di 0.761 0.917 0.951 0.883 0.718

stance, m)

Standard 0.006064 0.004999 0.002830 0.003367 0.006328

deviation(
m)

Average Distance - the average value of the distance that was covered by the ball
Systematic error - error that occurred because of the uncertainty of the ruler
Standard deviation - standard deviation of the distance values

3. Data analysis:
Formulas:
The first step is to present formulas which we will use in our calculations.

We have to split our projectile motion into two components: x- and y- directional motions.
Our launching point’s coordinates are (x,y) which are equal to (0,0). As we are calculating the
range, which is the horizontal distance we equate y=0. Therefore we can use the equation below
which includes the vertical distance equal to y=0.
 1 2
𝑦=𝑦 0
+𝑣 0𝑦
𝑡 − 2
𝑔𝑡
(1)
And the horizontal distance formula
𝑥
𝑥=𝑣 𝑡⇒ 𝑡 =
0𝑥 𝑣
(2)
0𝑥

Next formula we need to use is:

𝑣 0𝑥
= 𝑣 0𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ) (3)

Substituting values of (3) into (2) we get

𝑥 𝑥
𝑡= 𝑣
=𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ)
(4)
0𝑥 0

Next, we have another formula related to v0y:

𝑣 0𝑦 = 𝑣 0𝑠𝑖𝑛(θ) (5)
By substituting the values of (4) and (5) into corresponding places in equation (1), we get
𝑥 1 𝑥 2
0 = (𝑣0𝑠𝑖𝑛(θ))( 𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ)
)− 2
𝑔( 𝑣 𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ)
)
0 0

(6)

Solving this equation gives us

𝑔 2
0 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛(θ)𝑥 − [ 2 ]𝑥
2(𝑣 0𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ))
(7)
By solving equation (7) we can get
𝑥=0 (8)
and
2
2𝑣 0𝑠𝑖𝑛(θ)𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ)
𝑥= 𝑅 = 𝑔
(9)

Here we can see that (8) corresponds to the initial point and (9) to the final point, when the ball
lands.

We can further simplify the equation by using the following equation:

𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ) =2𝑠𝑖𝑛(θ)𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ) (10)
to get
2
𝑣 0𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ)
𝑥=𝑅 = 𝑔
(11)
Our goal is to get the initial velocity 𝑣 0, which can be obtained from expression (11), so 𝑣 0
is
𝑅𝑔
𝑣 0
= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ)
(12)

Here,
t= time [s]
R = range [m], which is horizontal distance
𝑣 0= initial velocity [m/s]
θ= launching angle [°]
𝑚
g=gravitational acceleration [ 2 ]
𝑠

Calculations:

1) Calculation of average distance for angles from Table 1:

25°: dav=(d1+d2+d3+d4+d5+d6+d7+d8+d9+d10)/10 =
(0.751+0.754+0.759+0.759+0.761+0.761+0.762+0.764+0.769+0.771)/10 = 0.761m
35°: (0.909+0.913+0.915+0.915+0.916+0.916+0.918+0.919+0.924+0.926)/10 = 0.917m
45°: (0.945+0.949+0.949+0.949+0.951+0.951+0.952+0.953+0.953+0.955)/10 = 0.951m
55°: (0.877+0.878+0.882+0.883+0.883+0.883+0.885+0.885+0.887+0.887)/10 = 0.883m
65°: (0.711+0.713+0.715+0.715+0.716+0.717+0.719+0.720+0.726+0.732)/10 = 0.718m

2) Calculation of Standard deviation:

25°:
sqrt[(0.751-0.761)^2+(0.754-0.761)^2+(0.759-0.761)^2+(0.759-0.761)^2+(0.761-0.761)^2+(0.7
61-0.761)^2+(0.762-0.761)^2+(0.764-0.761)^2+(0.769-0.761)^2+(0.771-0.761)^2/10-1]=
0.006064
35°:
sqrt[(0.909-0.917)^2+(0.913-0.917)^2+(0.915-0.917)^2+(0.915-0.917)^2+(0.916-0.917)^2+(0.9
16-0.917)^2+(0.918-0.917)^2+(0.919-0.917)^2+(0.924-0.917)^2+(0.926-0.917)^2/10-1]=
0.004999
45°:
sqrt[(0.945-0.951)^2+(0.949-0.951)^2+(0.949-0.951)^2+(0.949-0.951)^2+(0.951-0.951)^2+(0.9
51-0.951)^2+(0.952-0.951)^2+(0.953-0.951)^2+(0.953-0.951)^2+(0.955-0.951)^2/10-1]=
0.002830
55°:
sqrt[(0.877-0.883)^2+(0.878-0.883)^2+(0.882-0.883)^2+(0.883-0.883)^2+(0.883-0.883)^2+(0.8
83-0.883)^2+(0.885-0.883)^2+(0.885-0.883)^2+(0.887-0.883)^2+(0.887-0.883)^2/10-1]=
0.003367
65°:
sqrt[(0.711-0.718)^2+(0.713-0.718)^2+(0.715-0.718)^2+(0.715-0.718)^2+(0.716-0.718)^2+(0.7
17-0.718)^2+(0.719-0.718)^2+(0.720-0.718)^2+(0.726-0.718)^2+(0.732-0.718)^2/10-1]=
0.006328

3) Calculation for Velocity (initial) for every angle from Table 1:

2
𝑅𝑔 0.761𝑚*9.81𝑚/𝑠
For 25°, V0= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ)
= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2*25)
= 3.122 m/s, R - average distance
2
𝑅𝑔 0.917𝑚*9.81𝑚/𝑠
For 35°, V0= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ)
= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2*35)
= 3.094 m/s
2
𝑅𝑔 0.951𝑚*9.81𝑚/𝑠
For 45°, V0= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ)
= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2*45)
= 3.054 m/s
 2
𝑅𝑔 0.883𝑚*9.81𝑚/𝑠
For 55°, V0= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ)
= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2*55)
= 3.036 m/s
2
𝑅𝑔 0.718𝑚*9.81𝑚/𝑠
For 65°, V0= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2θ)
= 𝑠𝑖𝑛(2*65)
= 3.032 m/s

4) Calculation of Velocity average

Vo (average) = (V25 + V35 + V45 + V55 + V65)/5 = (3.122+3.094+3.05+3.04+3.032)/5 =
3.0672 m/s

Error analysis:
We have two types of errors in this experiment:
1) Systematic or Instrumental error:
1
A. For angle: Δθ = 2 · 5°=2.5°(the half of the smallest portion of the ruler, in
degrees)
1
B. For range: Δd = 2
· 0. 001𝑚 = 0. 0005𝑚 (the half of the smallest portion
of the ruler, in meters)
2) Statistical error
A. Statistical error is equal to the standard deviation of the range for each angle
The following formula,
2 2
∆𝐶 = ∆ 𝐴 + ∆ 𝐵 was used to calculate the total measurement error. Here ∆A is
systematic error and ∆B is statistical error. Due to the fact that the value of systematic error is too
insignificant, the total error is almost the same as statistical error. That is why only 4 significant
figures were used for the values of statistical and total errors.
For 25° angle, we have the following:
2 2
∆𝐶 = 0. 0005 + 0. 006064 = 0. 006084m
We used the same calculations for 35°, 45°, 55°, and 65°.
The results are given in the table below:

Table 2. Errors

№ Angle ( in Systematic error Systematic error of Statistical error of Total error of

degrees °) ( in degrees°) distance (m) distance (m) distance (m)

1 25 2.5 0.0005 0.006064 0.006084

2 35 2.5 0.0005 0.004999 0.005023

3 45 2.5 0.0005 0.002830 0.002873

4 55 2.5 0.0005 0.003367 0.003403

5 65 2.5 0.0005 0.006328 0.006347

Next, we use the formula

Δ𝑣 Δ𝑑 2 Δθ 2
𝑣
= (𝑑 ) + ( θ
)
𝑎𝑣

(13)
to compute the initial velocity error.
Here,
Δd = ruler’s systematic error in meters
dav= average distance in meters
Δθ= angle’s systematic error in degrees
θ=angle of the ball’s launching point in degrees
Δ𝑣=initial velocity error in m/s
v= initial velocity in m/s
For 25°, we have the following:

0.0005 2 2.5 2
Δ𝑣 = 3. 122 ( 0.761
) +( 25
) = 0. 312 𝑚/𝑠
Also, we used the same calculations for 35°, 45°, 55°, and 65°.
The results are given in the table below:
Table 3. Initial velocity error

Angle ( ° ) 𝑣 (m/s) 𝑉0 𝑎𝑣 (m/s) Δ𝑣0 (m/s) Δ𝑣0 𝑎𝑣 (m/s)

0

25 3.122 3.0672 0. 312 0.192

35 3.094 0.221

45 3.054 0.170

55 3.036 0.138

65 3.032 0.117
 .
Figure 2. Sample results

Discussion:
This experiment can be stated as very accurate and precise. The reason is that the observer
repeated throwing the ball 10 times for each angle and calculated the average value in order to
reduce possible errors. After that we used the results to calculate the number of values such as
average distance covered by the ball at each angle, standard deviation which showed statistical
error of experiment, initial velocity for each angle and finally the average initial velocity. The
results are shown in Table 2. Also, it should be noticed that measured values in Table 2 were
almost the same with theoretical values. Moreover, systematic errors are extremely small. After
all, it is investigated that the real values of distance and velocity are smaller than theoretical ones
as the angle is getting bigger. This is because some external influences were not taken into
account such as air resistance.
While, as for relation between set angle and distance covered by the ball at that angle, it was
investigated that the ball reaches its maximum value of covered distance at 45°. Furthermore, it
was found that the distance traveled by the ball at angles that in sum give us 90° almost the
same. In other words, the distance traveled by the ball at 25° is almost the same as the distance
traveled by the ball at 65°, the same for 35° and 55°.

Possible errors that occurred during the experiment

1. Systematic errors- errors related to the measurement of values. Despite that we averaged
the values, the errors inevitably erose. As an example, in the real experiment air
resistance decreased the velocity of the ball, when it traveled long distances, but the
theoretical part neglected air resistance.
 2. Statistical errors or accidental errors- these errors are constant and caused due to observer
or unregulated factors. For instance, the observer simply could write wrong results and
the reason is that he did not see the proper result due to viewing angle. These errors can
be eliminated with many repetitions of measurement, and averaging them.

Conclusion:

The primary objective of this laboratory experiment was to determine initial velocity of the
projectile motion. Generally, the experiment was conducted smoothly, yielding desirable
outcomes. The angle for the maximum distance traveled was determined as well, which is 45°,
corresponding to distance of 0.951m. Varying angles during the procedure, different distances
were measured and used to calculate the velocity afterwards. The average velocity of the ball,
summarizing all the launches, was established to be 3.0672 ± 0.192 m/s, proving an experimental
procedure to be successful. For this experiment, we averaged the uncertainty for velocity and it
was found to be 0.192 m/s, which is relatively high value, suggesting that some variations in
values are present in data. During this experiment, we encountered instrumental and statistical
errors, which could account for this uncertainty. Factors, such as air resistance and equipment,
such as a ruler should be considered and taken into account for future experiments.