Projectile Motion

Define a projectile

An object thrown at an angle to the horizontal

Describe everything you know about projectile motion

• The projectile travels in 2 planes, vertical and horizontal which means we needs 2 SUVATs.

• Time is the same in both planes since we assume air resistance is negligible.

Describe everything you know about vertical motion

• Acceleration is due to gravity, a = g = 9.81^-s

• Max height is reached when v = 0

• Negative acceleration = deceleration

• Time to reach maximum height = time of flight / 2

• From/to rest = u/v = 0

Describe everything you know about horizontal motion

• No horizontal acceleration, a = 0

• Velocity remains constant since there’s no resultant force, u = v

Sketch the 1st model of projectile motion and describe what we need to do to find all missing variables

1) Find the time of flight, t

2a) Find the maximum vertical height, when v = 0

2b) Find the horizontal displacement/range, ONLY after t is found

Sketch the 2nd model of projectile motion and describe what we need to do to find all missing variables

1) Find the time of flight, t

2) Find the horizontal displacement/range, ONLY after t is found

3) Find V(v)