DOC.

REF TU-FIE-PY-LS004
EFF. DATE 15-FEBRUARY-2016
REVISION 2
PAGE NO. 1-5

FOUNDATION IN ENGINEERING PROGRAMME

PRACTICAL 3: PROJECTILE MOTION

SAFETY REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS

Students performing experimental work in the Engineering laboratory must follow and
abide by the following safety regulations and guidelines. Students must complete a safety
declaration form before they are allowed to work in the laboratory.

GENERAL

 Students are not allowed to enter the laboratory without the permission of the lecturer
or laboratory assistant.
 Unauthorized experimental work in the laboratory is strictly
forbidden.
 Prior to the use of laboratory out of timetabled periods, students must apply for usage
from relavant labaratory staff.
 Students are not allowed to work alone in the laboratory.
 Bags and books must not be left on benches or on stools and should be placed
in designated area. Do not block passageways or fire exits.
 All working spaces must always be kept clean.
 Long hair, ties, jewellery and clothing must never be allowed to hang loose, since any
of these items can easily become entangled in the moving parts of machinery, and hence
cause serious injury.
 Suitable clothing must be worn; long trousers or jeans are recommended for boys
and dresses, slacks or jeans for girls. In particular, sleeveless t-shirts and sleeveless
blouses are prohibited.
 Students must wear covered footwear during laboratory and workshop sessions.
Sandals, open-toed shoes, slippers or similar footwear are prohibited. Students may
be refused entry to the laboratory or workshop if not in proper footwear.
 Storage and/or consumption of food and drink, smoking and the application of
cosmetics in the laboratory are not allowed.
 Indiscipline in the laboratory or workshop (e.g. whistling, horseplay etc.) will not
be tolerated.
 No reagent, solution or apparatus is to be removed from the laboratory without
approval from the lecturer.
 Do not pour waste down the sink unless authorized to do so by your
lecturer.
 Defective equipment or broken glassware must be reported to the lecturer or lab
assistant.
 Do not run in the laboratory or along corridors. Exercise care when opening and
closing doors on entering and leaving the laboratory.
 Laboratory doors must be kept closed at all times during practical
classes.

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REVISION 2
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OBJECTIVES

To demonstrate the concept of projectile motion and how it is affected by angle and launch
height.

APPARATUS

1) Projectile Launcher
2) Metal Ball
3) Measuring Tape
4) Metre Rule
5) Carbon Paper
6) A4 Papers
7) Wooden Board

INTRODUCTION

The main idea involved with projectile motion is quite simple but deep – the motions of a
projectile in the horizontal and vertical directions are entirely independent of one another;
meaning that they can each be described separately as one-dimensional motions. Thus if a
ball is thrown horizontally (= 0°) with a speed v0, once launched, it continues to move with
speed v0 in the horizontal direction no matter what happens to its speed in the vertical
direction.

Motion in the vertical direction however, experiences an acceleration of g = 9.8m/s2 in the

downward direction due to the gravitational attraction of the earth. If a ball is thrown upwards
at some angle, its initial vertical component of velocity v0y is positive in the coordinate
system we are using here. Once launched, its vertical velocity component vy steadily
decreases to zero, and then becomes negative as it falls back to earth. Coupled with the
constant horizontal component of velocity v0x, this results in a parabolic trajectory as
illustrated in Fig. 3.1.

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Fig. 3.1 Parabolic trajectory

This experiment will be split into two parts. Part A will examine how the range of a projectile
motion be affected by the angle of the launch whereas Part B will be to determine the initial
launch velocity of the projectile motion.

The four basic rectilinear kinematics equations (sometimes known as the SUVAT equations)
are essential to deriving the mathematics of projectile motions. Chiefly, there are 4
parameters that are of concern when it comes to projectile motion and these are listed below
with the equation necessary to calculate them.

Assume that an object is launched from an angle of θ with an initial velocity of v0 where
the horizontal component of this velocity will be v0cosθ and the vertical component will be
v0sinθ.

 Time taken for a projectile to reach its maximum height, t.

(1)

 Total time of flight, T.

(2)

 Maximum height attained by projectile, H.

(3)

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 The range of the projectile motion, R.

(4)

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

PART A

1. Set up the experiment by clamping the projectile launcher to the side of a lab table
and on the adjacent table, lay the wooden board then tape the A4 papers above it. Lay
Carbon Paper above the A4 papers.

2. Adjust the projectile launcher to a launch angle of 30°.

3. Load the metal ball into the launcher and trigger the launch.

4. Repeat the launch twice while keeping the angle constant. If the ball fails to hit the
spot where there is carbon paper, repeat the launch after shifting the carbon paper into
a more ideal position.

5. Remove the carbon paper from the A4 paper and note the impressions made by the
metal ball. Use a meter rule to measure the distance of the projectile.

6. Tabulate the results in a table such as the one shown in Table 3.1.

7. Repeat the experiment but increase the launch angles up to 70 degrees in intervals of
10 degrees for each repetition.

PART B

1. Set up the experiment by clamping the projectile launcher to the side of the lab table
but adjust the launch angle to 0 degrees. Set up the wooden board, A4 papers and
carbon papers on the floor directly in front of the projectile launcher.

2. Load the metal ball into the launcher and trigger the launch.

3. Record the distance of the impression and repeat the launch 2 more times.

4. Tabulate the results in a table such as the one shown in Table 3.2 and acquire the
average reading to determine the initial launch velocity.

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Table 3.1
Average R Total flight Theoretical
Angle R1 (m) R2 (m) R3 (m)
(m) time, T (s) Range (m)
30
40
50
60
70

Table 3.2
Initial
Height, Y Average R
R1 (m) R2 (m) R3 (m) Velocity, v0
(m) (m)
(m/s)

DISCUSSION

1. What is the initial launch velocity of the projectile? Explain (by showing calculation
steps) how you arrived at that answer.

2. What is the launch angle that will give the highest range? Explain.

3. Find the expression for the time it take a projectile that starts at ground height h0 = 0
to return to the ground h = 0, by considering the vertical component of velocity vy and
acceleration due to gravity g = 9.8m/s2.

4. Plot the graphs of theoretical range against angle and experimental range against
angle. Compare and comment on the differences and suggest a reason for why this
difference exists.