Projectile

1) A ball is kicked so that it has an initial velocity of 12 m s–1 at an angle of 500 to horizontal ground.
Assume that air resistance is negligible. What is the maximum height above the ground that
is reached by the ball? S-23/11/06

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A 0.47 m B 3.0 m C 4.3 m D 7.3 m

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2) A ball is kicked upwards at an angle of 45° to horizontal ground. After a short flight, the ball

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returns to the ground. It may be assumed that air resistance is negligible. What is never zero during the flight
of the ball?

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A the horizontal component of the ball’s acceleration
F-23/12/05
B the horizontal component of the ball’s velocity

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C the vertical component of the ball’s momentum D the vertical component of the ball’s velocity
3) A ball is kicked upwards at an angle of 45° to horizontal ground. After a short flight, the ball returns to the
ground. It may be assumed that air resistance is negligible. What is never zero during the flight of the ball?
A the horizontal component of the ball’s acceleration B the horizontal component of the ball’s velocity
C the vertical component of the ball’s momentum D the vertical component of the ball’s velocity
4) A stone is projected horizontally at time t = 0 and falls. Air resistance is negligible. The stone has a
horizontal component of velocity vH and a vertical component of velocity vV. Which graph shows how vH and
vV vary with time t ? W-22/13/05, W-18/13/06

5) A ball is thrown horizontally with a speed of 10.0 m s–1 above horizontal ground. The ball hits the ground

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after a time of 3.0 s. Air resistance is negligible. What is the speed of the ball just before it hits the ground?
A 10 m s–1 B 29 m s–1 C 31 m s–1

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6) A projectile is launched at an angle above horizontal ground and travels through the air.
S-22/11/06

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The projectile reaches its maximum height at position X. Assume that no upthrust acts

the projectile at position X?

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on the projectile. Which diagram shows the directions of the force or forces acting on
S-22-11/09

7) Two projectiles, X and Y, are fired into the air from the same place on level
ground and reach the same maximum height, as shown. Projectile X is fired
vertically upwards and projectile Y is fired at an angle to the horizontal.
Air resistance is negligible. Which statement is correct? S-22/13/06
A X and Y are at rest at their maximum heights. B X and Y are fired with the same speed.
C X and Y take the same time to return to the ground. D X and Y travel the same distance.
8) An archer shoots an arrow at a target. The diagram shows the path of the arrow.
Air resistance is assumed to be negligible. The graphs show how three different
quantities p, q and r, relating to the motion of the arrow, vary with time. Which

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quantity is the horizontal component of displacement and which quantity is the
vertical component of displacement of the arrow?
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F ar W-21/11/06, W-17/11/07

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9) A stone is thrown horizontally off a cliff and then lands in the sea. Air resistance is negligible. Which
statement about the stone’s motion is not correct? W-21/13/07
A The final displacement of the stone depends upon its initial horizontal velocity.
B The stone travels with a constant horizontal component of velocity until it hits the water.
C The stone travels with an increasing vertical component of velocity.
D The time taken for the stone to hit the surface of the water depends on its initial horizontal velocity.
10) A projectile is launched at an angle to the horizontal at time t = 0.
It travels over horizontal ground, as shown. Assume that air resistance is negligible.
Which graph best shows the variation with t of the speed of the projectile from when
it is launched to when it lands on the ground? S-21/11/06, S-18/12/06
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11) A projectile is fired from point P with velocity V at an angle 𝜃 to the horizontal.

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It lands at point Q, a horizontal distance R from P. Air resistance is negligible.

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The acceleration of free fall is g. Which equation for R is correct?

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𝑣 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 2𝑣 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 𝑣 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 𝑣 2 𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃

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AR= B R= C R= DR= S-21/12/07

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𝑔 𝑔 2𝑔 2

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12) A cannon fires a cannonball with an initial speed v at an angle α to the horizontal. Which equation is correct
for the maximum height H reached? F-21/12/07

13) Two students each throw a ball horizontally from the top of a tower.
The two balls are released at the same time. The first student throws her ball
with a speed of 20 m s–1 and the second student throws his ball with a speed
of 10 m s–1. Assume air resistance is negligible and that the balls land on
horizontal ground. Which row describes the horizontal distances travelled
and the landing times of the two balls on the ground? S-20/13/07
14) A projectile is fired from point P with velocity V at an angle θ to the
horizontal. It lands at point Q, a horizontal distance R from P, after time T.
The acceleration of free fall is g. Air resistance is negligible. S-20/11/07
Which equation is correct?
A R = VT cos θ B R = VT sin θ C R = VT cos θ – ½ gt2 D R = VT sin θ – ½ gt2
15) A stone is thrown horizontally from the top of a cliff and falls into the sea below.

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Air resistance is negligible. The path of the stone is shown.

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In which direction does the resultant force on the stone act during its fall? F-20/12/06

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A horizontally to the right B parallel to its velocity
C perpendicular to its velocity
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D vertically downwards

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16) A skydiver falls from an aircraft that is moving horizontally.

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The vertical component of the velocity of the skydiver is v. The vertical
component of the acceleration of the skydiver is a. Which row describes v and
a during the first few seconds after the skydiver leaves the aircraft? W-19/11/09
17) A stone is thrown horizontally from the top of a cliff and falls into the sea

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some time later. Air resistance is negligible. Which graph shows how the vertical component vv of velocity

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of this stone varies with its horizontal component vh of velocity as it moves through the air? S-19/11/07

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18) In the absence of air resistance, a ball thrown horizontally from a tower with velocity v, will land after time
T seconds. If, however, air resistance is taken into account, which statement is correct? F-19/12/-09
A The ball lands with a horizontal velocity less than v after more than T seconds.
B The ball lands with a horizontal velocity less than v after T seconds.
C The ball lands with a horizontal velocity v after more than T seconds.
D The ball lands with a horizontal velocity v after T seconds.
19) A tennis ball is thrown horizontally in air from the top of a tall building.
The effect of air resistance is not negligible. What happens to the
horizontal and to the vertical components of the ball’s velocity?W-18/11/06
20) A stone is projected horizontally in a vacuum and moves along the path shown. X is a
point on this path. XV and XH are vertical and horizontal lines respectively through X. XT is
the tangent to the path at X. Along which directions do forces act on stone at X? S-11/12/14, W-17/13/11
A XV and XH B XV only C XH only D XT only
21) A ball is kicked upwards at an angle of 45° to horizontal ground. After a short flight, the ball returns
to the ground. It may be assumed that air resistance is negligible. What is never zero during the flight of the
ball?
A the horizontal component of the ball’s acceleration B the horizontal component of the ball’s velocity
C the vertical component of the ball’s momentum D the vertical component of the ball’s velocity
22) A projectile is thrown at an angle to the ground. At a certain time,
the projectile has a horizontal velocity of 23.0 m s–1 and a vertical

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velocity of –10.1 m s–1. What is the speed of the projectile at this time?
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A 12.9 m s–1 B 20.7 m s–1 C 25.1 m s–1

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D 33.1 m s–1

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23) A cyclist pedals along a raised horizontal track. At the end of the track, he travels horizontally into the air

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and onto a track that is vertically 2.0 m lower.

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The cyclist travels a horizontal distance of 6.0 m in the air.
Air resistance is negligible What is the horizontal velocity v of the cyclist
at the end of the higher track?
A 6.3 m s–1 B 9.4 m s–1 C 9.9 m s–1 D 15 m s–1
24) An astronaut on the Moon, where there is no air resistance, throws a ball.
The ball’s initial velocity has a vertical component of 8.00 m s–1 and a
horizontal component of 4.00 m s–1, The acceleration of free fall on the
Moon is 1.62 m s–2. What will be the speed of the ball 9.00 s after being thrown?
A 6.6 m s–1 B 7.7 m s–1 C 10.6 m s–1 D 14.6 m s–1
25) A student uses a spring gun to launch a steel ball with a constant horizontal
velocity. He varies the height h of the gun and measures the horizontal
displacement r of the ball when it hits the ground. Which graph shows the
variation with height h of the horizontal displacement r ?

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26) A ball is thrown with velocity V at an angle θ to the

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horizontal. The acceleration of free
fall is g. Assume that air resistance is negligible.
What are the horizontal displacement x
and the vertical displacement y after time t?
27) A boy throws a stone with a horizontal velocity of
10 m s–1 from the top of a building The height of the building is 8.0 m.
The stone travels along a curved path until it hits the ground, as shown in the
diagram. How long does it take the stone to reach the ground?
(Air resistance can be neglected.)
A 0.61 s B 0.80 s C 1.3 s D 1.6 s
28) A football is released above a plane, sloping surface and bounces
several times. The diagram shows its path between its bounces at X and at Y.
Assume that there is no air resistance. Which graph correctly shows the variation
with time t of the horizontal component of its velocity vh between X and Y?

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29) A stone is thrown horizontally from the top of a cliff. Air resistance is negligible. Which graph shows the

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variation with time of the vertical component of the stone’s velocity?

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30) A projectile is launched at 45° to the horizontal with initial kinetic energy E. Assuming air resistance to be
negligible, what will be the kinetic energy of the projectile when it reaches its highest point?
A 0.50 E B 0.71 E C 0.87 E D E W-9/11/14, W-14/11/16
31) A tennis ball is thrown horizontally in air from the top
of a tall building. If the effect of air resistance is not
negligible, what happens to the horizontal and vertical
components of the ball’s velocity? W-10/11/07, S-14/11/06
32) A cannon fires a cannonball with an initial speed v at an angle α
to the horizontal. Which equation is correct for the maximum height H reached?

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33) The dotted line shows the path of a competitor in a ski-jumping competition. Ignoring air resistance, which

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graph best represents the variation of his speed v with the horizontal

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distance x covered from the start of his jump at P before landing at Q?

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34) In the absence of air resistance, a stone is thrown from P and follows a parabolic path in which
the highest point reached is T. The stone reaches point Q just before landing.
The vertical component of acceleration of the stone is
A zero at T. B larger at T than at Q. C larger at Q than at T. D the same at Q as at T.
35) A projectile is launched at point O and follows the path OPQRS, as shown. Air resistance may be
neglected. Which statement is true for the projectile when it is at the highest point Q of its path?
A The horizontal component of the projectile’s acceleration is zero.
B The horizontal component of the projectile’s velocity is zero.

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C The kinetic energy of the projectile is zero.
D The momentum of the projectile is zero.

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36) A bullet is fired horizontally with speed v from a rifle. For a short time t after leaving the rifle, the only

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force affecting its motion is gravity. The acceleration of free fall is g Which expression gives the value of

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S-11/12/06

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37) The diagram shows the path of a golf ball.
Which row describes changes in the S-09/1/08
horizontal and vertical components
of the golf ball’s velocity, when air resistance forces are ignored?
38) A stone is thrown upwards and follows a curved path. Air resistance is negligible.
Why does the path have this shape? W-08/1/7
A The stone has a constant horizontal velocity and constant vertical acceleration.
B The stone has a constant horizontal acceleration and constant vertical velocity.
C The stone has a constant upward acceleration followed by a constant downward acceleration.
D The stone has a constant upward velocity followed by a constant downward velocity.