Assignment : 1 Basics-1

(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1 A ball is thrown from a field with a speed of 12.0 m/s at an angle of 45° with the horizontal. At what distance
will it hit the field again? Take g = 10.0 m/s2.

2. A football is kicked with a velocity of 20 m/s at an angle of 45° with the horizontal. (a) Find the time taken by
the ball to strike the ground. (b) Find the maximum height it reaches. (c) How far away from the kick does
it hit the gound? Take g = 10 m/s 2.

3. A ball is thrown at a speed of 40 m/s at an angle of 60° with the horizontal. Find (a) the maximum height
reached and (b) the range of the ball. Take g = 10 m/s 2.

4. A projectile is projected with an initial speed u=20m/s at an angle 53 o above horizontal. Take g=10m/s2.
a. Find the distance of particle from origin after 1s.
b. Find the speed of particle after 1s.
c. Find the angle from horizontal at which the particle is travelling 1s after projection.
d. At what time after projection will the particle be travelling at an angle 37 o above horizontal.
e. At what time after projection will the particle be travelling at an angle 37 o below horizontal.
f. At what ime after projection will the particle be moving perpendicular to its initial direction of motion.
g. At what ime after projection will the velocity of particle be perpendicular to its acceleration.
h. What will be the angle of elevation of the particle as seen from the point of projection, 1s after projection.
i. There is a high vertical wall at 6m from the point of projection, perpendicular to the plane of projection. At
what time will be particle hit the wall.
j. At what height will the particle hit the wall.

5. A ball is projected from a point on the floor with a speed of 15 m/s at an angle of 60° with the horizontal. Will
it hit a vertical wall 5 m away from the point of projection and perpendicular to the plane of projection without
hitting the floor first? Will the answer differ if the wall is 22 m away?

6. Find the angle of projection of projectile for which the horizontal range and maximum height are equal.

7. Prove that the maximum horizontal range is four times the maximum height attained by the projectile; when
fired at an inclination so as to have maximum horizontal range.

8. There are two angles of projection for which the horizontal range is the same. Show that the sum of the
maximum heights for these two angles is independent of the angle of projection.

9. Show that there are two values of time for which a projectile is at the same height. Also show mathematically
that the sum of these two times is equal to the time of flight.

10. What is the average velocity of a particle projected from the ground with speed u at an angle  with the
horizontal over a time interval from beginning till it strikes the ground again?

11. What is the change in velocity in the above question?


12. A body is projected up such that its position vector varies with time as r  {3tˆi  (4t  5t2 )j}
ˆ m. Here t is in
seconds.
Find the time and x–coordinate of particle when its y–coordinate is zero.

1
13. The coach throws a baseball to a player with an initial speed of 20 m/s at an angle of 45° with the horizontal.
At the moment the ball is thrown, the player is 50 m from the coach. At what speed and in what direction
must the player run to catch the ball at the same height at which it was released?

14. Two bodies were thrown simultaneously from the same point: one, straight up, and the other, at an angle of
 = 60° to the horizontal. The initial velocity of each body is equal to v0 = 25 m/s. Neglecting the air drag, find
the distance between the bodies t = 1.70 s later.

15. A rifle with a muzzle velocity of 100 m/s shoots a bullet at a small target 30 m away in the same horizontal
line. How high above the target must the gun be aimed so that the bullet will hit the target?

16. A shell is fired from a point P at an angle of 60° with a speed of 40 m/sec and it strikes a horizontal plane
through P at a point A. The gun is fired a second time with the same angle of elevation but a different speed
v. If it hits the target which starts to rise vertically from A with a constant speed 9 3 m/s at the same instant
as the shell is fired, find v.
17. A boy at A wishes to throw two balls to the boy at B so that they arrive at the same time. If each ball is thrown
with a speed of 10 m/s, determine the angles C and D at which each ball should be thrown and the time
between each throw. Note that the first ball must be thrown at C(>D), then the second ball is thrown at D.
You can use a calculator for this question.

ANSWERS

1. 14.4 m 8. Proof
2. (a) t = 2.8 s, (b) H = 10 m, (c) 40 m 9. Proof
3. (a) 60 m (b) 80 3 m 10. ucos
11. 2usin(downwards)
265m , (b) 6 5m / s , (c)   tan (1/ 2) ,
1
4. (a) 12. t = 0, 0.8 s, x coordinate = 0, 2.4 m
(d) t = 0.7s (e) t = 2.5s (f) t = 2.5s (g) 1.6s 13. 3.19 m/s
14.  = 42.5 m
(h)   tan1(11/12) i. 0.5s (j) 6.75s
15. 45 cm
5. Yes, Yes 16. 50 m/s
6. tan = 4 or  = tan–1(4) 17. D = 14.7°, C = 75.3°, 1.45 s
7. Proof
 Assignment : 2 Basics-2
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. A projectile is fired with a speed u at an angle  with the horizontal. Find its speed when its direction of motion
makes an angle  with the horizontal.
2. If at any point, the velocity of a particle is u and is directed at an angle  to the horizontal, then show that it
will be moving at right angles to its initial direction after a time(u cosec )/g.
3. Find the average velocity of a projectile between the instants it crosses half the maximum height. It is
projected with a speed u at an angle  with the horizontal.
4. A particle is projected at an angle 60° with horizontal with a speed v = 20 m/s. Taking g = 10 m/s 2 find the
time after which the speed of the particle remains half of its initial speed.
5. A projectile aimed at a mark which is in the horizontal plane through the point of projection falls ‘a’ cm short
of it when the elevation is  and goes ‘b’ cm far when the elevation is . Show that if the speed of projection
1 1  b sin2  a sin2 
is same in all the cases the proper elevation is 2 sin  ab .
 
6. A particle is projected at an angle of elevation  and after t seconds it appears to have an elevation of  as
seen from the point of projection. Find the initial velocity of projection.
7. Two particles are simultaneously projected in the same vertical plane from the same point with velocities u
and v at angles  and  with horizontal. Find the time that elapses when their velocities are parallel.
8. The acceleration of gravity can be measured by projecting a body upward and measuring the time it takes to
pass two given points in both directions. Show that if the time the body takes to pass a horizontal line A in
both directions is tA and time to go by a second line B in both directions is tB, then assuming that the
8h
acceleration is constant, its magnitude is g = t2  t2 , where h is the height of the line B above line A.
A B

9. Two particles are projected from a point at the same instant with velocities whose horizontal and vertical
components are u1, v1 and u2, v2 respectively. Prove that the interval between their passing through the other
common point of their path is

2(v1u2  v2u1)
g(u1  u2 )

10. A projectile is launched with a speed vB = 25 m/s from the floor of a 5 m high tunnel as shown in figure.
Determine the maximum horizontal range R of the projectile and the corresponding launch angle . You may
use a calculator for finding the angle.

3
11. A particle is moving along a vertical circle of radius R = 20 m with a constant speed v = 31.4 ms –1 as shown
in figure. Straight line ABC is horizontal and passes through the centre of the circle. A shell is fired from point
A at the instant when particle is at C. If distance AB is 20 3 m and shell collides with the particle at B,,
calculate

(i) smallest possible value of the angle  of projection

(ii) corresponding velocity u of projection. ( = 3.14 and g = 10 ms–2)
12. A small body is thrown at an angle to the horizontal with the initial velocity v0. Neglecting the air drag, find
(a) the displacement of the body as a function of time r(t);
(b) the mean velocity vector <v> averaged over the first t seconds and over the total time of motion.
13. A man is sitting on the shore of a river. He is in the line of a 1.0 m long boat and is 5.5 m away from the centre
of the boat. He wishes to throw an apple into the boat. If he can throw the apple only with a speed of 10 m/
s, find the range of angles of projection for successful shot. Assume that the point of projection and the edge
of the boat are in the same horizontal level. You may use a calculator for this question.
14. A cannon fires successively two shells with velocity v0 = 250 m/s; the first at the angle 1 = 60° and the
second at the angle 2 = 45° to the horizontal, the azimuth being the same. Neglecting the air drag, find the
time interval between firings leading to the collision of the shells.
15. If h1 and h2 are the greatest heights and t1 and t2 the times of flight for the two projectiles having same range
R and same initial speed. Show that

g t1 t2
R = 4 h1 h2 and R = .
2
16. A particle is projected so as to have a range R on the horizontal plane through the point of projection. If 
t12  t22 sin     
are the possible angles of projection and t 1, t2 the corresponding times of flight, show that t2  t2  sin    .
1 2  
17. Let 4 seconds be the time in which a projectile reaches a point P in its path and 5 seconds the time from P till
it reaches the horizontal plane through the point of projection. Find the height of P above the horizontal
plane.
18. Two particles are projected simultaneously with the same speed V in the same vertical plane with angles of
V  3
elevation  and 2, where  < 45°. Show that their velocities are parallel after a time, cos cos ec .
g 2 2
19. Two projectiles are projected at the same instant from the same point at inclinations  and  to the horizontal.
If they simultaneously hit the top and the bottom of a vertical post subtending angle  at the point of
projection, prove that tan – tan = tan.

20. The ball at A is kicked such that A = 30°. If it strikes the ground at B having coordinates x = 5 m, y = – 3 m
determine the speed at which it is kicked and the speed at which it strikes the ground.
ANSWERS
 1 
1. v = u cos sec 11.   tan1  (2n  1)2   30 , (ii) 20 ms-1
 3 
2. Proof
3. u cos , horizontal in the plane of projection 12. (a) r = v0t + gt2/2 (b) <v>t = v0 + gt/
2, <v> = v0 – g(v0.g)/g2
4. 3 s 13. 15° to 18° and 72° to 75°
5. Proof 14. t = 11 s
15. Proof
gt cos 
6. u= 16. Proof
2sin(  )
17. 98 meters
uv sin(  ) 18. Proof
7. t=
g(v cos   u cos ) 19. Proof
8. Proof 20. vA = 5.27 m/s, vB = 9.31 m/s
9. Proof
10. R = 46.4 m,  = 23.3°
 Assignment : 3 Equation of Trajectory
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. A ball is thrown with a velocity 7 2 m/s at an angle of 45° with the horizontal. It just clears two vertical poles
of height 90 cm each. Find the separation between the poles.

2. An object is projected so that it must clear two obstacles each 7.5 m high which are situated 50 m from each
other. If the time of passing between the obstacles is 2.5 sec, calculate the complete range of projection and
the initial velocity of projection. (g = 10 m/s2).

3. A body is projected at an angle  to the horizontal so as to clear two walls of equal height a at a distance 2a
from each other. Show that the range is equal to 2a cot (1/2) .

4. A cricketer A hits a ball upwards at a height of 2 m above the ground making an angle of 30° with the
horizontal and with a velocity 7.8 m/sec. The ball was then caught by another player B at a height of 1 m
above the ground. Find the distance between the players A and B.
[g = 9.8 m/sec2]

5. A stone is projected from the point of a ground in such a direction so as to hit a bird on the top of a telegraph
Post of height h and then attain the maximum height 2h above the ground. If at the instant of projection, the
bird were to fly away horizontally with a uniform speed, find the ratio between the horizontal velocities of the
bird and the stone, if the stone still hits the bird while descending.

6. From a point on the ground at a distance x from the foot of a vertical wall, a ball is thrown at an angle  which
just clears the top of the wall and afterwards strikes the ground at a distance y on the other side. Find the
height of the wall in terms of x,y and .

7. A particle is projected from point O on the ground with velocity u = 5 5 m/s at angle  = tan–1(0.5). It strikes
at a point C on a fixed smooth plane AB having inclination of 37° with horizontal as shown in figure. If the
particle does not rebound, calculate

(a) coordinates of point C in reference to coordinate system as shown in the figure.

(b) maximum height from the ground to which the particle rises (g = 10 m/s 2)

6
8. A particle is thrown over a triangle from one end of a horizontal base and grazing the vertex falls on the other
end of the base. If  and  be the base angles and  be the angle of projection prove that tan = tan + tan.

9. The benches of a gallery in a cricket stadium are 1 m wide and 1 m high. A batsman strikes the ball at a level
one metre above the ground and hits a mammoth sixer. The ball starts at 35 m/s at an angle of 53° with the
horizontal. The benches are perpendicular to the plane of motion and the first bench is 110 m from the
batsman. On which bench will the ball hit?

10. Taking the top of the projectile as the origin of the coordinate system, show that equation for the trajectory
can be written in the familiar form, y = 4 ax2.

11. With what minimum speed must a particle be projected from origin so that it is able to pass through a given
point P(a, b)?

12. The angular elevation of an enemy’s position on a hill h cm high is : show that, in order to shell it, the initial
velocity of the projectile must not be less than gh(1  cos ec) .

13. Two parallel straight lines are inclined to the horizontal at an angle . A particle is projected from a point mid
way between them so as to graze one of the lines and strikes the other at right angles. Show that if  is the
angle between the direction of projection and either of lines, then

tan = ( 2 – 1)cot

14. A particle P is projected from a point A which is at a height 6 h above the horizontal ground. The
particle moves freely under gravity, attains a greatest height 8 h above the ground and strikes the

h
ground at B. Show that the time taken for P to reach B from A is 6 g . Given the horizontal distance

between A and B is 8 h. Find the horizontal component of the velocity of P. Find also the tangent of

h
the acute angle between horizontal and velocity of P at time 3 g after P leaves A.

15. A particle is projected in air at an angle  with the horizontal. Using g = 10 m/s2 and neglecting the forces
other than the forces of gravity, find the minimum value of  so that the position vector of the particle and its
velocity vector become perpendicular to each other during its motion in air.

16. A ball is projected so as to just clear two walls, the first of height ‘a’ at a distance ‘b’ from the point of
projection and the second of height ‘b’ and at a distance ‘a’ from point of projection. Show that the range on
 a2  ab  b2 
the horizontal plane is  ab
.
 
17. A particle is projected with speed v at an angle  to the horizontal from the point x = 0, y = 0. If x and y–axes
are horizontal and vertically upwards respectively and point of projection is the lowest point on th inner
surface of a bowl formed by rotating the curve x2 = 4ay, where a is a positive constant. Show that the particle
strikes the bowl at a horizontal distance

4av2 tan 
x=
v  2ag  2ag tan2 
2
18. A regular hexagon stands with one side on the ground and a particle projected so as to graze its four upper
31
vertices. Show that the ratio of its maximum velocity to that of its minimum velocity is .
3

19. Consider a solid shell which explodes on the ground. The fragments of the shell fly in various directions. If the
maximum initial speed which the fragment may acquire is v0. Then show that any object at position (x, y)
from the point of explosion may be hit by a fragment if

v20 v20  g2x  

x and y  2 g  1  v4 
g  0 

20. A particle projected with velocity 2 gh so that its range on horizontal plane through the point of projection
is 4r. When it is at a distance ‘’ from the point of projection it is moving at right angles to the original direction
of motion. Prove that 2 r2 = h3( – h).

21. Two particles A and B are projected from the same point O with equal angle  = 30° from the horizontal as
7 m/sec and B has the projection velocity double
shown in the figure. If A has the velocity of projection v =
that of A, find the separation d between them when their velocity vectors become mutually perpendicular to
each other. [assume no loss of mechanical energy during the motion].

22. A shell bursts on contact with the ground and pieces from it fly in all directions with all velocities upto 80 feet
5
per second. Show that a man 100 feet away is in danger for 2 seconds. (g = 32 ft/s2)
2

ANSWERS 12. Proof

1. 8m 13. Proof
2. 70 m, 26.6 m/s
4
3. Proof 14. Horizontal velocity component of P = gh ,
3
4. 3.9 3 m
3
tan  =
2 4
5.
2 1
6. 2 2 
15. sin–1  3 

7. (a) the coordinate of point C are (5 m, 1.25  
m)
16. Proof
(b) H = 4.45 m
17. Proof
8. Proof
18. Proof
9. Sixth
19. Proof
10. Proof
20. Proof
11. The minimum values of u is bg  g a  b .
2 2 21. The velocities will nevel be perpendicular
22. Proof
 Assignment : 4 Projectile thrown from
a height
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. A projectile is fired horizontally with a velocity of 98 m/s from the top of a hill 490 m high. Find (a) the time
taken by the projectile to reach the ground (b) the distance of the target from the hill and (c) the velocity with
which the projectile hits the ground. (g = 9.8 m/s2).

2. A body is thrown horizontally from the top of a tower and strikes the ground after three seconds at an angle
of 45° with the horizontal. Find the height of the tower and the speed with which the body was projected. Take
g = 9.8 m/s2.

3. A ball is thrown horizontally from a point 100 m above the ground with a speed of 20 m/s. Find (a) the time
it takes to reach the ground, (b) the horizontal distance it travels before reaching the ground, (c) the velocity
(direction and magnitude) with which it strikes the ground. You may use a calculator for part (c).

4. Two particles are simultaneously thrown in horizontal direction from two points on a river bank which are at
certain height above the water surface. The initial velocities of the particles are v1 = 5 m/s and v2 = 7.5 m/s
respectively. Both particles fall into the water at the same time. First particle enters the water at a point s =
10 m from the bank. Determine :
(a) the time of flight of the two particles
(b) the heights from which they are thrown
(c) the points where the second particle falls in water

5. A popular game in Indian villages is goli which is played with small glass balls called golis. The goli of one
player is situated at a distance of 2.0 m from the goli of the second player. This second player has to project
his goli by keeping the thumb of the left hand at the place of his goli, holding the goli between his two middle
fingers and making the throw. If the projected goli hits the goli of the first player, the second player wins. If
the height from which the goli is projected is 19.6 cm from the ground and the goli is to be projected
horizontally, with what speed should it be projected so that it directly hits the stationary goli without falling on
the ground earlier?

6. A projectile is given an initial velocity of 5 m/s at an angle 30° below horizontal from the top of a building 25
m high. Find :
(i) the time after which it hits the ground.
(ii) the distance from the building where it strikes the ground.
(Take g = 10m/s2)

9
7. A person standing on the top of a cliff 171 ft high has to throw a packet to his friend standing on the ground
228 ft horizontally away. If he throws the packet directly aiming at the friend with a speed of 15.0 ft/s, how
short will the packet fall?

8. A ball is projected at an angle of 30° with the horizontal from the top of a tower strikes the ground in 5
seconds at an angle of 45° with the horizontal. Find the height of the tower and the speed with which it was
projected. [ g = 10 m/ sec2]

9. Two shots are fired simultaneously from the top and bottom of a vertical tower AB at angles  and  with
horizontal respectively. Both shots strike at the same point C on the ground at distance ‘S’ from the foot of the
tower at the same time. Show that the height of the tower is S(tan–tan).

10. A staircase contains three steps each 10 cm high and 20 cm wide (see figure). What should be the minimum
horizontal velocity of a ball rolling off the uppermost plane so as to hit directly the lowest plane?

11. A particle is projected under gravity with velocity 2ga from a point at a height h above the level plane. Show

1
that the angle of projection  for the maximum range on the plane is given by tan2 = , and that the
ah

maximum range is 2 a(a  h) .

12. A projectile is fired from a point on a cliff to hit a mark 10 m horizontally from the point and 10 m vertically
below it. The velocity of projection is equal to that due to falling freely under gravity through 5 m from rest.
Show that the two possible directions are at right angles and the time of flight are approximately 2.6 sec and
1.08 sec. [g = 10 ms–2]. You may use a calculator.

ANSWERS

1. (a) t = 10s (b) BA = 980 m (c)  = 45°, v = 98 2 m/s

The projectile hits the ground with a velocity 98 2 m/s at an angle of  = 45° with horizontal.
2. sy = 44.1 m, vx = 29.4 m/s
3. (a) 4.5 s, (b) 90 m, (c) 49 m/s,  = 66° with horizontal
4. (a) 2 s, (b) h1 = h2 = 19.6 m, (c) 15 m
5. 10 m/s

6. (i) 2 s (ii) 5 3 m
7. 192 ft

8. 50( 3 – 1)m
9. h = S(tan – tan)
10. 2 m/s
11. Proof
12. Proof
 Assignment : 5 Projectile thrown from
a moving vehicle
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. Two trains A and B are moving along parallel rails. A particle is thrown from train A vertically
upwards. What will be the shape of the path as seen by (a) an observer standing on the ground, (b)
an observer in train B moving with same speed as train A in the same direction, (c) an observer in
train B moving with twice the speed that of A in the same direction?

2. A projectile is fired from the vertical tube mounted on the vehicle which is travelling at the constant speed u
= 30 km/h. The projectile leaves the tube with a velocity vr = 20 m/s relative to the tube. If air resistance is
neglected, show that the projectile will land on the vehicle at the tube location and calculate the distance s
traveled by the vehicle during the flight of the projectile.

3. A bomb is dropped from a plane flying horizontally with uniform speed. Show that the bomb will explode
vertically below the plane. Is the statement true if the plane flies with uniform velocity but not horizontally?

4. A person is standing on a truck moving with a constant velocity of 14.7 m/s on a horizontal road. The man
throws a ball in such a way that it returns to the truck after the truck has moved 58.8 m. Find the speed and
the angle of projection (a) as seen from the truck (b) as seen from the road.

5. A boat is approaching the shore with a speed of 5 3 m/s. At the instant when it is at a distance of 30 3 m
from the shore, a stone is to be projected at an elevation of 30° WRT boat so that it just reaches the shore.
What should be the speed of the stone relative to the boat?

6. A boy standing on a long railroad car throws a ball straight upwards. The car is moving on the horizontal road
with an acceleration of 1 m/s2 and the projection velocity in the vertical direction is 9.8 m/s. How far behind
the boy will the ball fall on the car?

7. A boy sitting at the rear end of a railway compartment of a train, running at a constant acceleration on
horizontal rails, throws a ball towards the fore end of the compartment with a muzzle velocity of 20 m/sec at
an angle 37° above the horizontal, when the train is running at a speed of 10 m/sec. If the same boy catches
the ball without moving from his seat and at the same height of projection, find the speed of the train at the
instant of his catching the ball. [g =10 m/sec2, sin 37° = 3/5]

8. A body is thrown up in a lift with a velocity u relative to the lift and the time of flight is found to be t. Show that
2u  tg
the lift is moving up with an acceleration .
t

9. A man is riding on an open car travelling with a constant velocity of 10 m/s. He wishes to throw a ball through
a stationary hoop 5 m above the height of his hands is such a manner that the ball will move horizontally as
it passes through the hoop. He throws the ball with a velocity of 12.5 m/s with respect to himself. What must
be the vertical component of the velocity of the ball? How many seconds after he releases the ball will it pass
through the hoop? At what horizontal distance in front of the hoop must the ball be released? (Take g = 10
m/s2).

11
10. A gun is mounted on a trolley which can move uniformly with speed v m/s along the x–axis. Two shots are
fired from the origin with the gun making an angle 30° with the horizontal such that in the first case the
trolley is moving along the positive x–axis and in the second case moving along the negative x–axis. The
respective range of the projectile is 250 m and 200 m, along the x–axis. Find the velocity of the trolley.
(Assume height of the trolley and recoil effect to be negligible).

11. A gun is fired from a moving platform and ranges of the shot are observed to be R 1 and R2 when the platform
is moving forwards and backwards respectively with velocity v. Find the elevation of the gun  in terms of the
given quantities.

12. An elevator is going up with an upward acceleration of 1 m/s2. At the instant when its velocity is 2 m/s, a
stone is projected upward from its floor with a speed of 2 m/s relative to the elevator, at an elevation of 30°.
(a) Calculate the time taken by the stone to return to the floor.
(b) Sketch approximately the paths of the projectile as observed by an observer inside and outside the
elevator.

13. The radii of the front and hind wheels of a carriage are a and b, and c is the distance between the centre of
their axle. A particle of mud, driven from the highest point of the hind wheel is observed to alight on the

g(c  b  a)(c  a  b)
highest point of the front wheel. Show that the velocity of carriage is .
4(b  a)

ANSWERS

1. (a) Parabola, (b) Vertical straight line, (c) Parabola

2. 34.0 m
3. Proof, Yes
4. (a) 19.6 m/s , (b) 24.5 m/s at 53° with horizontal
5. 19.77 m/s
6. 2m
7. 42 m/s
8. Proof
9. v1 = 10 m/s, t = 2 s, 17.5 m
10. 4.9 m/s

g(R1  R 2 )2
11. tan =
4v2(R1  R2 )

12. (a) 0.18 s

13. Proof
 Assignment : 6 Relativel Motion of
Projectiles
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. A particle A is projected with an initial velocity of 60 m/s at an angle 30° to the horizontal. At the same time
a second particle B is projected in opposite direction with initial speed of 50 m/s from a point at a distance of
100 m from A. If the particles collide in air, find (a) the angle of projection  of particle B (b) time when the
collision takes place and (c) The distance of P from A; where collission occurs (g = 10 m/s 2)

2. Two towers AB and CD are situated a distance d apart as shown in figure. AB is 20 m high and CD is 30 m high
from the ground. An object of mass m is thrown from the top of AB horizontally with a velocity of 10 m/s
towards CD.
Simultaneously another object of mass 2m is thrown from the top of CD at an angle of 60° to the horizontal
towards AB with the same magnitude of initial velocity as that of the first object. The two objects move in the
same vertical plane, collide in mid–air and stick to each other.
(i) calculate the distance d between the towers.
(ii) find the position where the objects hit the ground. (g = 9.8 m/s 2).

3. Two particles A and B are projected from the two towers of height 10 m and 20 m respectively. Particle A is
projected with an initial speed of 10 2 m/s at an angle of 45° with horizontal, while particle B is projected
horizontally with speed 10 m/s. If they collide in air, what is the distance ‘d’ between the towers?

4. Two particles A and B are projected towards each other with speeds 10 m/s and 5 2 m/s at angles 30° and
45° with horizontal from two points separated by a distance of 15 m. Will they collide or not?

13
5. Two particles A and B are projected simultaneously in the directions shown in figure with velocities v A = 20 m/
s and vB = 10 m/s respectively. They collide in air after ½ s. Find (a) the angle  (b) the distance x.

6. Particles P and Q of mass 20 g and 40 g respectively are simultaneously projected from points A and B on the
ground. The initial velocities of P and Q make 45° and 135° angles respectively with the horizontal AB as
shown in figure. Each particle has an initial speed of 49 m/s. The separation AB is 245 m. Both particles travel
in the same vertical plane and undergo a collision. After collision P retraces its path. Determine the position
of Q when it hits the ground. How much time after the collision does the particle Q take to reach the ground?
(Take g = 9.8 m/s2)

7. Two particles are simultaneously thrown from the roofs of two high buildings as shown in figure. Their velocities
are vA = 2 m/s and vB = 14 m/s respectively. Calculate the minimum distance between the particles in the
process of their motion. Also find the time when they are at closest distance.

8. At the same instant two boys throw balls A and B from the window with a speed v 0 and kv0, respectively,
where k is a constant. Show that the balls will collide if k = cos2/cos1.
9. Several particles are projected from a point in various directions but with the same initial speed V 0. Show that
at any subsequent time t before they reach the ground, they all lie on the surface of a sphere of radius V 0 t.

10. Two guns situated on the top of a hill of height 10 m fire one shot each with the same speed 5 3 m/s at some
interval of time. One gun fires horizontally and other fires upwards at an angle of 60° with the horizontal. The
shots collide in air at point P. Find :
(a) the time interval between the firings and
(b) the coordinates of the point P. Take origin of the coordinate system at the foot of the hill right below the
muzzle and trajectories in x–y plane. (g = 10 m/s2)

11. A boy at O throws a ball in the air with a speed v0 at an angle 1. If he then throws another ball at the same
speed v0 at an angle 2 < 1, determine the time between the throws so the balls collide in mid air at B.

ANSWERS

1. (a)  = sin–1(3/5) (b) t = 1.09 s (c) s = 62.64 m

20
2. (i) d = 10 3 m (ii) s = m
3
3. 20 m
4. No.

5. (a) 30° (b) 5 3 m

6. 122.5 m from A towards B, 3.536 s

23
7. Smin = 6.0 m, t = seconds
10 2
8. Proof
9. Proof

10. (a) t = 1 s (b) (x, y) = (5 3 m, 5 m)

2v0  sin(1  2 ) 
11. t =  
g  cos 2  cos 1 
 Assignment : 7 Projectile motion on an
inclined plane
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. A particle is projected horizontally with a speed u from the top of a plane inclined at an angle  with the
horizontal. How far from the point of projection will the particle strike the plane?

2. Two bodies are projected from the same point with equal speeds in such directions that they both strike the
same point on a plane whose inclination is . If  be the angle of projection of the first body with the
horizontal show that the ratio of their times of flight is

sin(  )
cos 

3. A particle is projected along an inclined plane as shown in figure. What is the speed of the particle when it
collides at point A? (g = 10 m/s2)

4. In the above problem what is the component of its velocity perpendicular to the plane when it strikes at A?

5. A particle is projected from the bottom of an inclined plane of inclination 30°. At what angle  (from the
horizontal) should the particle be projected to get the maximum range on the inclined plane.

6. A particle is projected from the bottom of an inclined plane of inclination 30° with velocity of 40 m/s at an
angle of 60° with horizontal. Find the speed of the particle when its velocity vector is parallel to the plane.
Take g = 10 m/s2.

7. A heavy particle is projected from a point at the foot of a fixed plane, inclined at an angle 45° to the
horizontal, in the vertical plane containing the line of greatest slope through the point. If (> 45°) is the
inclination to the horizontal of the initial direction of projection, for what value of tan  will the particle strike
the plane?
(a) horizontally
(b) at right angle

8. A shot is fired at an angle  to the horizontal up an hill of inclination  to the horizontal. Show that it strikes
the hill horizontally if tan = 2 tan.

9. Two inclined planes OA and OB having inclinations 30° and 60° with the horizontal respectively intersect each
other at O, as shown in figure. A particle is projected from point P with velocity u = 10 3 m/s along a
direction perpendicular to plane OA. If the particle strikes plane OB perpendicular at Q. Calculate
(a) time of flight

16
 (b) velocity with which the particle strikes the plane OB
(c) height h of point P from point O
(d) distance PQ.(Take g = 10 m/s2)

10. A projectile is fired with a velocity u at right angles to the slope, which is inclined at an angle  with the
horizontal. Derive an expression for the distance R to the point of impact.

11. A stone must be projected horizontally from a point P, which is h meters above the foot of a plane inclined at
an angle  with horizontal as shown in figure. Calculate the velocity v of the stone so that it may hit the
inclined plane perpendicularly.

12. Particle A is released from a point P on a smooth inclined plane inclined at an angle  with the horizontal. At
the same instant another particle B is projected with initial velocity u making an angle  with the horizontal.
Both the particles meet again on the inclined plane. Find the relation between  and .

13. A stone is thrown down the slope as shown. Determine the magnitude u and direction of its initial velocity so
that the stone will rise 12 m and still have a range of 50 m down the slope. You may use a calculator for this
question.

14. A boy stands on the top of a hill which slopes downward uniformly at angle . At what angle  from the
 horizontal should he throw a stone so that it has the greatest range?

15. Two stones are projected simultaneously with equal speeds from a point on an inclined plane along the line of
its greatest slope upwards and downwards respectively. The maximum distance between their points of
striking the plane is double that of when they are projected on a horizontal ground with same speed. If one
strikes the plane after two second of the other, find :
(a) the angle of inclination of plane
(b) the speeds of their projection (Take g = 9.8 m/s2)

16 For a given initial speed V0, show that the maximum range of a projectile on a plane inclined at  to the
horizontal is (V02/g)/(1+sin).

17. Show that for a given velocity of projection, the maximum range down a plane of inclination  is greater than
up the plane in the ratio (1 + sin)/(1 – sin).

18. If from a point on the side of a hill two bodies are projected in the vertical plane through the line of greatest
slope with the same velocity but in directions at right angles to each other. Show that difference of their
ranges is independent of their angles of projection.

19. A man is travelling on a flat car which is moving up a plane inclined at cos –1(4/5) to the horizontal with a speed
5 m/s. He throws a ball towards a stationary hoop located perpendicular to the incline in such a way that the
ball moves parallel to the slope of the incline while going through the centre of the hoop. If the distance ‘d’ of
the centre of the hoop from the level of the man’s hand is such that its component perpendicular to the incline
is 4 m, calculate the time taken by the ball to reach the hoop.

Answers
2u2
2u2 10. R= tan sec
g
1. R= tan sec
g
2. Proof 2gh
11. v=
2  cot2 
10
3. m/s 12.  +  = (/2)
3
13. u = 17.74 m/s,  = 59.8°
4. 5 m/s
5. 60°  
14. = 
4 2
40
6. m/s 15. (a) 45°, (b) 12.8 m/s
3
16. Proof
7. tan = 2, tan = 3 17. Proof
8. Proof 18. Proof
9. (a) t = 2s, (b) v = –10 m/s, (c) h = 5 m, (d) PQ 19. 1 Sec
= 20 m
 Assignment : 7 Colission of projectile
with a surface
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. A particle is thrown over a smooth horizontal ground with speed u at an angle  above horizontal.
Coefficient of restitution between particle and ground is e. Find:
(a) Time interval betweeen nth and (n+1)th collission with ground.
(b) Horizontal distance covered betweeen nth and (n+1)th collission with ground.
(c) Maximum height attained by projectile betweeen nth and (n+1)th collission with ground.
1.
2. A particle is projected from a point O on a horizontal ground with velocity u at an angle of elevation
. It strikes a wall that is perpendicular to the plane of motion of projectile at a distance d from the
point of projection. The collission is perfectly elastic and frictionless. At what distance from the wall
does the projectile hit the ground again?

u 2 sin(2 )
2. d
g

3. A particle is projected from a point O on a horizontal ground with velocity u at an angle of elevation
. It strikes a wall that is perpendicular to the plane of motion of projectile at a distance R/4 from the
point of projection, where R is the horizontal range if the wall is removed. The collission is perfectly
frictionless and coefficient of restitution is e. At what distance from the wall does the projectile hit the
ground again?

3e R
3.
4
4. A particle is projected from a point O on a horizontal ground with velocity v at an angle of elevation
. The point O is 20 metres from the foot F of a vertical post. The particle subsequently strikes the
post at a point 15 m above the ground and at the moment of impact the particle is travelling
horizontally.

1
(a) Find  and v. The coefficient of restitution between the particle and post is . The particle next
2
meets the ground at B where O, B and F are in a straight line.
(b) Calculate OB and the angle which the direction of motion of particle makes at B with the horizontal.
You may use a calculator for this question.

4. (a) 20.6 m/s,  = 56.3°; (b) 10 m and  = 71.6°

5. A boy stands  = 4 m away from a vertical wall and throws a ball. The ball leaves the boy’s hand at h = 2.2 m

19
 above the ground with initial velocity v0 = 10 2 m/sec at an angle of 45° from the horizontal. After striking
the wall elastically the ball rebounds. Where does the ball hit the ground?

5. 18 m from the wall

6. A ball is projected from a point in a horizontal plane so as to strike a vertical wall at right angle. After
rebounding from the wall it strikes the horizontal plane, once returns to the point of projection. Find co–
efficient of restitution for the two collisions, assuming it to be same for both the collision. Neglect Friction and
assume that the wall is perpendicular to the plane of motion of particle.
6. 1/2

7. A cart is moving along X–direction with a velocity of 4 m/s. A person on the cart throws a stone with a velocity
6 m/s relative to himself. In the frame of reference of the cart the stone is thrown in Y–Z plane making an
angle of 30° with vertical z–axis. At the highest point of its trajectory, the stone hits an object of equal mass
hung vertically from branch of a tree by means of a string of length L. A completely inelastic collision occurs
in which the stone gets embedded in the object. Determine :
(a) the speed of the combined mass immediately after the collision with respect to an observer on the
ground.
(b) the length L of the string such that the tension in the string becomes zero when the string becomes
horizontal during the subsequent motion of the combined mass. [g = 9.8 m/s 2]
7. (a) 2.5 m/s, (b) 0.32 m

8. An object of mass 5 kg is projected with a velocity of 20 m/s at an angle of 60° to the horizontal. At the
highest point of its path the projectile explodes and breaks up into two fragments of masses 1 kg and 4 kg.
The fragments separate horizontally after the explosion. The explosion releases internal energy such that the
kinetic energy of the system at the highest point is doubled. Calculate the separation between the two
fragments when they reach the ground. (g = 10 m/s2)
8. d ~ 43.3 m

9. A small ball thrown at an initial velocity v0 at an angle  to the horizontal strikes a vertical wall moving
towards it at a horizontal velocity v and is bounced to the point from which it was thrown. Determine the time
‘t’ from the beginning of motion to the moment of impact, neglecting friction losses.

v0 sin (v0 cos   2v)

9. t= g(v0 cos   v)

10. A perfectly elastic ball is thrown from the foot of a plane whose inclination to horizontal is . If after striking
the plane at a distance R from the point of projection it rebounds and retraces its former path, find the speed
of projection.

gR(1  3 sin2 )
10. v=
2 sin 

11. A ball falls freely from a height h on to a frictionless inclined plane making an angle  with horizontal.
Find the ratio of successive ranges of the ball along the plane assuming the impacts between
the ball and the plane to be perfectly elastic.
11. R1 : R2 : R3 ..... = 1 : 2 : 3 : ....

12. A perfectly elastic particle is projected with a velocity v in a vertical plane through the line of greatest slope
of an inclined plane of elevation . If after striking the plane it rebounds vertically, show that it will return to
6 v
the point of projection at the end of time equal to .
g 1  8 sin2 
12. Proof
13. To test the manufactured properties of 10–N steel balls, each ball is released from rest as shown and strikes
a 45° inclined surface. If the coefficient of restitution is to be e = 0.8, determine the distance s to where the
ball must strike the horizontal plane at A. At what speed does the ball strike A?

13.
14.. An elastic particle is projected from the foot of an inclined plane at an angle  in the vertical plane
through the line of greatest slope and hits the plane at right angles. If  be the angle the
direction of projection makes with the plane and if the particle returns to the point of projection
in two jumps, find the value of the coefficient of restitution.

5 1
14. e2 =
2

15... A particle is projected from a point on the inclined plane and at the rth impact strikes the plane
perpendicularly and at the nth impact it is at the point of projection. If e is the coefficient of
restitution, show that en – 2er + 1 = 0.
15. Proof
 Assignment : 8 Miscellaneous
problems
(IIT-JEE 1/2 Year Program)

PHYSICS Topic: Projectile Motion Prepared By : Upvan Mittal

1. A projectile of mass m is fired into a liquid at an angle 0 with an initial velocity v0 as shown. If the liquid
develops a frictional or drag resistance on the projectile which is proportional to its velocity, i.e., F = – kv
where k is a positive constant, determine the x and y components of its velocity at any instant. Also, what is
the maximum distance xmax that it travels?

2. A balloon moves up vertically such that if a stone is thrown from it with a horizontal velocity v 0 relative to it
the stone always hits the ground at a fixed point 2 v02/g horizontally away from it. Find the height of the
balloon as a function of time.

3. P, Q are two points distant ‘2a’ apart and at equal heights ‘a’ above a given horizontal plane. Prove that the
minimum velocity with which a particle must be projected from the plane so as to pass through P and Q is
2ag . Also prove that the time of passing between the walls is 2 a / g .

4. A cannon is on the edge of a cliff of height ‘k’ in the middle of a sea. Show that there is an annular region of
area, 8 kh around the cliff, in which the cannon is out of range of a ship, but the ship is not out of range of
the cannon, where 2 gh is the velocity of the shells used by both.

5. A particle is projected so as just to pass through three equal rings of diameter d, placed in parallel vertical
planes at distances ‘a’ apart, with their highest points in the same horizontal straight line at a height ‘h’ above
2 hd
the point of projection. Prove that its angle of elevation must be, tan–1 .
a
6. A cricketer in a long field can judge a catch and secure it easily, if the height of the ball above the ground lies
between k 1 and k 2. Prove that he must estimate his distance from the batsman within a length

 k1  
½ ½
k2  
R 1  h  ~ 1  h   , where 2R is the horizontal range and ‘h’ the greatest height of the ball.
    

7. A particle subject to gravity is projected at an angle  with the horizontal in a medium which produces a
retardation equal to ‘k’ times the velocity. It strikes the horizontal plane through the point of projection at an
tan  ekT  1  kT
angle  and the time of flight is T. Prove that  kT and deduce that  > .
tan  e  1  kT

8. Three particles are projected simultaneously and in the same vertical plane from a point with velocities v 1, v2,
v3 in directions making angles 1, 2, 3 with the horizontal. Show that the three particles will always lie on a
straight line if v2 v3sin(2 – 3) = 0.

9. From a gun placed on a horizontal plane which can fire a shell with velocity 2 gH , it is required to throw a
shell over a wall of height ‘h’ and the elevation of the gun cannot exceed ‘’, where  < 45°. Show that this will
be possible only when h < H sin2  and that if this condition is satisfied, the gun must be fired from within a

22
 strip of the plane whose breadth is 4 cos  H(Hsin2   h) .

10. A small ball moves at a constant velocity ‘v’ along a horizontal surface and at point A falls into a vertical well
of depth H and radius ‘r’. The velocity ‘v’ of the ball forms an angle  with the diameter of the well drawn
through point A as shown in the figure. Determine the relation between v, H, r and  for which the ball can
“get out” of the well after elastic impacts with the walls. Friction losses should be neglected.

11. A horizontal rectangular plane P of length 150 m is kept at a height 45 m. A particle is projected from the
origin as shown in the figure with velocity 50 m/s in the vertical xy plane. x–axis is horizontal (lies on the
ground) and the midpoint of plane P is at (125 m, 45m, 0). Find the largest possible x–co–ordinate attained
by the particle without colliding with the plane P.

12. A cannon fires from under a shelter inclined at an angle  to the horizontal as shown in the figure. The cannon
is at point A at a distance  from the base of the shelter (Point B). The initiall velocity of the shell is v 0 and its
trajectory lies in the plane of the figure. Determine the maximum range L max of the shell.

13. Two inclined planes intersect in a horizontal line, their inclinations to the horizontal being  and . If a particle
is projected at right angles to the former from a point in it so as to strike the other at right angles, the velocity
of projection is
½
 2 ag 
sin   
 sin   sin  cos(  ) 
‘a’ being the distance of the point of projection from the intersection of the planes.

14. Show that if a gun be situated on an inclined plane, the maximum range in a direction at right angles to the line
of greatest slope is a harmonic mean between the maximum ranges up and down the plane respectively.

15. A particle is projected under gravity from a point O with speed u at an inclination  to the horizontal.
The polar coordinates of the particle relative to O are (r, ), where  is the inclination of the
radius vector r to the horizontal. Show that the polar equation to the trajectory is

2u2 cos  sin(  )

r=
g cos2 

1 1
Show that r increases monotonically if cos > . If cos < , show that r decreases as 
3 3
decreases through the range,
  1  1
 cos 1(3 cos ) >  > – cos–1 (3 cos)
2 2 2 2

1 
For the critical case, cos = , ( = 1.23 rad),  = show that r is less than the horizontal
3 2
range.
Show that the first stationary value of r will become equal to the horizontal range when

(53 / 2  11)1 / 2
tan  = , (i.e.,  = 1.28 rad)
2

 
16. A and B are two points on a smooth plane inclined at an angle  to the horizontal. i and j are unit
 
vectors through A in the plane, i being horizontal and j along the line of greatest slope. The

straight line AB makes an angle  with i and is d units long. Particles are projected simultaneously

from A and B both with speed V, the one from A at an angle  to i and the one from B at an

angle  to – i both in the plane. If they do not collide, show that they are closest together when

d  cos(  )  cos(  ) 
t = 2V  1  cos(  )

 

If however, they do collide, show that they do so when

d

t = V 2  2 cos(  ) 

ANSWERS

m  k  (k / m)t 
1. vx = v0cos0e–(k/m)t, vy = k  m v0 sin   g  e  g , x = mv0 cos 0
   m
k

2v20
2.
g

1  egt / 2v0 
3. Proof
4. Proof
5. Proof
6. Proof
7. Proof
8. Proof
9. Proof

nr cos  2H
10. k where n & k are integral and mutually prime number
v g

11. 243.9 m

2 2
v20 v0 v20 v0 v20
12. If v02 < gsin2, then Lmax = , if 2  sin 2 then Lmax = . If 2 > sin2 then Lmax = sin2(
g v0  2g g v0  2g g

g sin2
+ sin–1 )
v0

13. Proof
14. Proof
15. Proof
16. Proof