NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – DASMARIÑAS

Civil Engineering Department

ENPHYS1L: CALCULUS-BASED PHYSICS LABORATORY
3rd Term A.Y. 22-23 | LABORATORY EXPERIMENT 03

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PROJECTILE MOTION
Objective:
1. To be able to demonstrate the concept projectile motion and its underlying theory through experimental
setup.

Learning Outcomes (LOs) Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

At the end of the activity, the students should be able to: 1 2 3 4
1. Measure the height and range of the projectile in
horizontal projection.
2. Compute the initial velocity of the ballistic launcher.
3. Measure the range of the projectile at an angle
with the horizontal.
4. Calculate the time of the flight of the projectile.
5. Calculate the percentage error in the experiment.

Apparatus:

1 ballistic launcher, 1 metal ball, 1 meter stick, 1 marker, 1 inclined plane, 1 protractor
Theory:
A projectile is a body launch into space with an initial velocity and allowed to move freely under the
influence of gravity. There are two types of projectiles. The first one is the horizontal projection and the other one
is a projectile launch at ang angle with the horizontal. The projectile has two types of component velocities, the
horizontal velocity and the vertical velocity. In horizontal projection, there is no initial vertical velocity, while the
horizontal velocity is constant. In a projectile launch at an angle with the horizontal, there is initial vertical velocity
because the body cannot move without initial velocity and the horizontal velocity is constant. At the topmost of
the flight the vertical velocity is zero, because the body temporarily stops before it moves gradually downward. It
is understood that the acceleration if the body is moving up is negative while if it goes down, it is positive. The
acceleration due to gravity is always considered in projectile motion. The formulas to be used:

𝑉𝑡 = 𝑉𝑜 + 𝑎𝑡 , 𝑉𝑓 2 = 𝑉𝑜 2 + 2𝑎𝑠 , 𝑉𝑥 = 𝑉𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 , 𝑉𝑦 = 𝑉𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃

𝑎𝑡
𝑆 = 𝑉𝑜 𝑡 + 2

Procedure:
A. Horizontal Projection
1. Mount the ballistic launcher at the corner and end of the table. All chairs should be removed for the safe
trajectory of the projectile. Prepare the ballistic launcher in the releasing mood and place the metal ball
at the tip of the barrel. Measure the height from the floor up to the tip of the barrel, this is the height of
the projectile.
2. Carefully release the trigger and watch out where the metal ball fall. Measure the distance or range,
from the base of the floor to where the ball fell.
3. Compute the time of the flight and initial velocity of the ball using the formulas shown.
4. Do this for three trials.

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 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – DASMARIÑAS
Civil Engineering Department
ENPHYS1L: CALCULUS-BASED PHYSICS LABORATORY
3rd Term A.Y. 22-23 | LABORATORY EXPERIMENT 03

5. Draw the experiment setup.

B. Projection at an Angle with the Horizontal

1. Mount the ballistic launcher at the end of the table, Insert an inclined plane for a desired angle.
2. Prepare to release the trigger while the ball is in the barrel.
3. Release the trigger find out where the ball fell. Measure the range using the meter stick.
𝑉𝑜 2 sin 2𝜃
4. In comparison, compute for the range using the formula 𝑋 = 𝑔
5. Compute for the percentage error.
6. Draw the experimental setup.

Draw setup of Apparatus and Label:

SETUP A:

SETUP B:

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 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – DASMARIÑAS
Civil Engineering Department
ENPHYS1L: CALCULUS-BASED PHYSICS LABORATORY
3rd Term A.Y. 22-23 | LABORATORY EXPERIMENT 03

Data and Result:

A. Horizontal Projection

Trials Height (cm) Range (cm) Time (sec) Initial Velocity

(cm/sec)
1
2
3
Average

B. Projection at an Angle with the Horizontal

Trials Range (actual, cm) Range (computed, % Error

cm)
1
2
3
Average

Computations for Data and Results:

Conclusion:

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