CHAPTER 3

PROJECTILE MOTION
Learning outcomes:
Build the competencies of students to
understand the concept of combined
vertical-horizontal movements and to find
the formula to predict:

a.Apex point (hmax)

b.Time needed to reach hmax

c.Time needed to reach Smax

d.The maximum displacement (Smax)

Projectile motion: a body in free fall moving in
two dimensions (vertical and horizontal) that is
subject to the forces of gravity and air
resistance and its path is a “parabola”

Bodies projected into the air are projectiles.

Examples of moving body as projectile:

Shot putt High jumper Long jumper
Soccer ball Baseball Ski jumper

What are the components of the movement?

It can be understood
by analyzing the:
• horizontal
• vertical
motions separately.

This diagram is
drawn using a
correct scale.

Which velocity is
changing as time
goes by?
 The speed in the x-
direction is constant; in
the y-direction the object
moves with constant
acceleration “g”.
This photograph shows two
y
balls that start to fall at the
same time. The one on the right
has an initial speed in the x-
direction. It can be seen that
vertical positions of the two
x balls are identical at identical
times, while the horizontal
position of the yellow ball
increases linearly.
If an object is launched at an initial angle of θ0
with the horizontal, the analysis is similar except
that the initial velocity has a vertical component.
This diagram is
drawn using a
correct scale.

Which velocity is
changing as time
goes by?
Objectives when launching projectiles:

– Maximize horizontal displacement

– Maximize vertical displacement

Factors Influencing Projectile’s Trajectory

Trajectory: the flight path of a projectile

• Projection ANGLE

• Projection SPEED

• Projection HEIGHT
 Projection ANGLE

• General shapes
– Perfectly vertical (angle = ?)
– Parabolic (angle = ?)
– Perfectly horizontal (angle = ?)

• Implications in sports

• Air resistance may cause

irregularities
 Projection SPEED:

Range:
– horizontal displacement.

– For oblique projection angles,

speed determines height and
range

– For vertical projection angle,

speed determines height.
 Relative Projection Height

Difference between projection

and landing height

Greater the relative projection

height, longer the flight time,
greater the displacement.
 Optimum Projection Conditions
• Maximize the speed of projection
• Maximize release height
• Optimum angle of projection
– Release height = 0, then angle = 450
  Release height, then  angle
  Release height, then  angle
• Complimentary angles (A + B = 90) have
the same range
– Large angle – higher and slower time: tennis lob,
punt
– Small angle – lower and faster time: baseball throw
 Analyzing Projectile Motion

Initial velocity:
• Horizontal component is constant
– Horizontal acceleration = 0

• Vertical component is constantly changing

– Vertical (upward) acceleration = -9.81 m/s2
– Vertical (downward) acceleration = 9.81 m/s2
A projectile launched with velocity will have both vertical &
horizontal components of that velocity.

Horizontal & Vertical Components:

•Vertical is influenced by gravity
•No force (neglecting air resistance) affects the horizontal
•Horizontal relates to distance
•Vertical relates to maximum height achieved
•Horizontal and vertical components are independent
 The Influence of Gravity

• Major influence of vertical

component
• Not the horizontal component

Force of Gravity:
– Constant, unchanging
– Negative acceleration (-9.81
m/s2)
Apex:
– Highest Point
– Vertical velocity = 0 m/s
A body projected
straight upward will
have the same speed
at the end of its flight
as it did when it was
launched
 Influence of Air Resistance

• In a vacuum, horizontal speed of a projectile

remains constant

• Air resistance affects the horizontal speed of a

projectile

• This class, horizontal velocity will be regarded as

constant
 Equations of
Constant Acceleration

Galileo’s Laws of constant acceleration:

v2 = v1 + at
S = v1t + ½at2
V22 = v21 + 2 aS
S = displacement; v = velocity; a = acceleration; t = time
Subscript 1 & 2 represent first or initial and second or final
point in time
 Equations of
Constant Acceleration

Horizontal component : a = 0

v2 = v1
S = v1t
V22 = v21
 Equations of
Constant Acceleration

Vertical component: a = -9.81 m/s2, initial velocity of zero

(a dropped object)
v2 = at
S = ½ at2
V22 = 2aS
Vertical component at apex: a = 0
0 = v21 + 2aS (det. max height)
0 = v1 + at
(total flight time – multiply by 2)
Solving Problems Involving Projectile Motion

Projectile motion is motion with constant

acceleration in two dimensions, where the
acceleration is g and is down.
Solving Problems Involving Projectile Motion: Procedures

1. Read the problem carefully, and choose the object(s)

you are going to analyze.
2. Draw a diagram.
3. Choose an origin and a coordinate system.
4. Decide on the time interval;
this is the same in both directions, and includes only
the time the object is moving with constant
acceleration g.
5. Examine the x and y motions separately.
Based on the similarity to vertical and horizontal
motions, if an object is launched at initial velocity
of Vo with angle of projection o, what are the
formulas to predict:

a.Apex point (hmax), Vx = ?; Vy = ?; ay = ?; ax

=?
b.Time needed to reach hmax
c.Time needed to reach Smax
d.The maximum displacement (Smax), Vx = ?; Vy
= ?; ay = ?; ax = ?
Solving Problems Involving Projectile Motion: Procedures

6. List known and unknown quantities. Remember

that vx never changes, and that vy = 0 at the highest
point.

7. Plan how you will proceed. Use the appropriate

equations; you may have to combine some of them.
 Driving Off A Cliff
Vy = 0
Vx = ?
ho

h
A movie stunt driver on a motorcycle speeds
horizontally off a 50.0-m-high cliff. How fast
must the motorcycle leave the cliff top to land
on level ground below, 90.0 m from the base of
the cliff where the cameras are? Ignore air
resistance.
 Driving Off A Cliff Through a Ramp

A stunt driver drives a red mustang convertible up a

ramp and off a cliff. The car leaves the ramp at a
velocity of 60 m/s at an angle of 45o to the horizontal;
the cliff and ramp combined cause the car to begin its
projectile motion at a height of 315m above the
ground. If you were coordinating this stunt, how far
away would you put a landing surface so that your
stunt driver was not injured?
 A Kicked Football

A football is kicked at an angle θ0 = 37.0° with a velocity

of 20.0 m/s, as shown. Calculate (a) the maximum
height, (b) the time of travel before the football hits the
ground, (c) how far away it hits the ground, (d) the
velocity vector at the maximum height, and (e) the
acceleration vector at maximum height. Assume the
ball leaves the foot at ground level, and ignore air
resistance and rotation of the ball.
 Conceptual Problem:
Where does the apple land?

A child sits upright in a wagon

which is moving to the right at
constant speed as shown. The
child extends her hand and throws
an apple straight upward (from her
own point of view), while the
wagon continues to travel forward
at constant speed. If air resistance
is neglected, will the apple land (a)
behind the wagon, (b) in the
wagon, or (c) in front of the
wagon?
 Conceptual Problem: The wrong strategy.

A boy on a small hill aims his water-balloon slingshot

horizontally, straight at a second boy hanging from a
tree branch a distance d away. At the instant the water
balloon is released, the second boy lets go and falls
from the tree, hoping to avoid being hit. Show that he
made the wrong move. (He hadn’t studied physics
yet.) Ignore air resistance.
 END
Thank You Very Much