Chapter 10

Projectile Motion

Projectile Motion
Projectile:

Any object that moves through the air or space

under the influence of gravity, continuing in
motion by its own inertia.

Without

gravity, a tossed object follows a straightline path.

With

gravity, the same object tossed at an angle

follows a curved path.

Projectile Motion
Without

gravity, a
tossed object
follows a straightline path.

With

gravity, the
same object
tossed at an angle
follows a curved
path.

Projectile Motion
The

difference in paths from falling from a straight-line to the

actual trajectory of the projectile is the same as it would have
fallen from rest in FREE-FALL for the same amount of time:

d = gt2 = 10t2 = 5t2

Projectile Motion
Projectile motion is a combination of
a constant horizontal component, and

an accelerating vertical component.

These components are INDEPENDENT of
each other.

Projectile Motion
The curvature of path is the combination of horizontal
and vertical components of motion.

Projectile Motion

The path, or trajectory, of a projectile is shaped like a

parabola.
It undergoes acceleration ONLY in the vertical direction,
while moving horizontally at a constant speed.

Projectile Motion
The horizontal component
of velocity doesnt change
when air drag is negligible
CONSTANT.
But the vertical component
of a projectile decreases
and increases as it rises
and falls over time
depending on whether it is
moving with gravity or not
FREE FALL.

Projectile Motion

The maximum height that a projectile reaches depends just on the

VERTICAL component of its initial velocity and time it was in the air:

h = viyt + gt2

Projectile Motion

BUT for a projectile that is thrown horizontally, there is no VERTICAL

component of its initial velocity. So the previous formula simplifies to:

h = 0t + gt2 = gt2

Projectile Motion
So a horizontally thrown projectile will ALWAYS fall 5 meters
after 1 sec no matter how fast it was initially thrown.
Recall the free fall formula:

d = gt2

Projectile Motion
The magnitude of a projectiles velocity at any point can be
found using its x- and y- components in the Pythagorean
theorem.

Projectile Motion
Range

of a projectile maximum horizontal distance

achieved by a projectile.

Since

the horizontal component of a projectiles velocity is

CONSTANT, it can be found simply using the formula:

Range = horizontal velocity x time in air

or

Rx = vxt

Projectile Motion

For a projectile thrown from ground-to-ground, it will go farther

or higher depending on what angle and what speed it was
thrown.

Projectile Motion
Maximum range occurs for ideal launch at 45, without air
resistance free fall.
Notice that the range for the pairs of angles 60 & 30 and
75 and 15 are the same. This is because these angles are
complementary (sum up to 90) with each other.

Projectile Motion
Without air resistance, the
time for a projectile to reach
its maximum height is the
same as the time for it to
return to its original level.

Projectile Motion
With

air resistance in consideration, the horizontal

motion of a projectile is NO LONGER constant, so
the actual path falls short of its ideal path.

From Projectiles to Satellites

Recall that a horizontally thrown projectile will ALWAYS fall 5
meters after 1 sec no matter how fast it was initially thrown.
Based on the free fall formula:

d = gt2= 5t2 = 5(1)2 = 5 meters

Fast-Moving Projectiles Satellites

The curvature of the Earths
surface drops a vertical
distance of 5 m for every
8,000 m tangent to the
surface.
An object moving at 8 km
per second could follow the
curvature of the Earth!

Fast-Moving Projectiles Satellites

An object thrown fast enough 8,000 m/s = 29,000 km/h
= 18,000 mph could orbit around the earth like a satellite!
An Earth satellite is simply a projectile that falls around
the Earth rather than into it.

Fast-Moving Projectiles Satellites

Isaac Newton reasoned that satellite motion, like that of the
Moon, were simply projectiles circling the Earth under the
attraction of gravity.
It is the satellites tangential velocity that prevents it from
crashing into the Earth.