Unit 3: Projectile Motion
What a curve in the air is actually made of: a horizontal motion and a vertical motion that never touch each other.
5 topics · 17 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
The Independence of Horizontal and Vertical Motion
- How it worksHow do the horizontal and vertical parts of a projectile's motion run on separate clocks that never affect each other?
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't a faster horizontal launch speed change how long a projectile stays in the air?
- Going furtherWhat happens to the two components of a projectile's motion if gravity is removed from only one of them?
Your turn1 of 2
A bullet fired perfectly horizontally from a gun and a second bullet simply dropped from the exact same height at the exact same moment hit the ground at exactly the same time, even though the fired bullet travels a huge horizontal distance before landing. Why does a bullet fired perfectly horizontally hit the ground at the same time as one just dropped?Horizontally Launched Projectiles
- How it worksHow does constant horizontal velocity combine with accelerating vertical velocity to draw a parabola?
- Worked exampleFind how far a ball lands from a 5 meter high table if it rolls off the edge at 4 m/s.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't a heavier ball rolled off the same table land closer to the base?
Your turn1 of 2
Find how far a ball lands from a 14.08 meter high table if it rolls off the edge at 9.91 m/s.Projectiles Launched at an Angle
- How it worksHow does splitting the launch velocity into horizontal and vertical components let you solve any angled launch?
- Worked exampleFind the maximum height of a projectile launched at 20 m/s at 30 degrees above the ground.
- Worked exampleFind the total time of flight for a projectile launched at 40 m/s at 60 degrees above the ground.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't the vertical velocity of a projectile stay constant the way its horizontal velocity does?
- Ties togetherHow do the range and maximum-height results for an angled launch trace back to the horizontal and vertical components you first split the velocity into?
Your turn1 of 2
Find the maximum height of a projectile launched at 43 m/s at 55 degrees above the ground.Range and Maximum Height
- How it worksHow does the range of a projectile depend on both its launch speed and its launch angle?
- Worked exampleFind the range of a projectile launched at 25 m/s at an angle of 40 degrees.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a projectile's range and time of flight when it's launched from the edge of a cliff instead of flat ground?
Your turn1 of 2
Find the range of a projectile launched at 43 m/s at an angle of 55 degrees above flat ground.The Parabolic Trajectory
- How it worksHow do the horizontal and vertical equations of motion combine into one equation for height in terms of horizontal distance?
- Worked exampleFind the height of a projectile launched at 20 m/s at 30 degrees once it has traveled 10 meters horizontally.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a projectile's path a perfect circle or a straight line instead of a parabola?
Your turn1 of 2
Find the height of a projectile launched at 32 m/s at 46 degrees once it has traveled 14 meters horizontally.