PROJECTILE MOTION

Projectile motion is a form of motion in which an object or particle (called a projectile)

is thrown near the earth's surface, and it moves along a curved path under the action of
gravity only. The only force of significance that acts on the object is gravity, which acts
downward to cause a downward acceleration.
Projectile motion is an example of curved motion with constant acceleration. It is two
dimensional motion of a particle thrown obliquely into the air. The path of a projectile is
called its trajectory.

Kinematic quantities of projectile motion

In projectile motion, the horizontal motion and the vertical motion are independent of each other; that
is, neither motion affects the other.

Acceleration
Since there is only acceleration in the vertical direction, the velocity in the horizontal direction is
constant, being equal to

. The vertical motion of the projectile is the motion of a particle

during its free fall. Here the acceleration is constant, being equal to

.The components of the

acceleration are:
,
.

Velocity
The horizontal component of the velocity of the object remains unchanged throughout the motion.
The vertical component of the velocity increases linearly, because the acceleration due to gravity is
constant. The accelerations in the

and

directions can be integrated to solve for the components

of velocity at any time , as follows:

,
.
The magnitude of the velocity (under the Pythagorean theorem):

Displacement

At any time , the projectile's horizontal and vertical displacement:

,
.
The magnitude of the displacement:

Parabolic Trajectory
Consider the equations,
,
.
If t is eliminated between these two equations the following equation is obtained:

,
This equation is the equation of a parabola. Since

, , and

are constants, the above equation is

of the form
,

in which

and

are constants. This is the equation of a parabola, so the path is parabolic. The axis
of the parabola is vertical.

Time of Flight
The total time for which the projectile remains in the air is called the time of flight.

After the flight, the projectile returns to the horizontal axis, so y=0

The Maximum Height of a Projectile

The highest height which the object will reach is known as the peak of the object's motion. The
increase of the height will last, until

, that is,
.

Time to reach the maximum height:

.
From the vertical displacement of the maximum height of projectile:

Range
The range of a projectile is determined by two parameters - the initial value of the
horizontal velocity component and the hang time of the projectile. As can be seen
from the animation, the projectile launched at 60-degrees has the greatest hang
time; yet its range is limited by the fact that the v x is the smallest of all three
angles. The projectile launched at 30-degrees has the greatest v x of all three launch
angles; yet its range is limited by the fact that the hang time is so short. The
projectile launched at 45-degree does not win in either category, yet the fact that it
is able to place a strong showing in each category contributes to its ability to
achieve the greatest range.

The maximum distance of projectile

It is important to note that the Range and the Maximum height of the Projectile does not depend
upon mass of the trajected body. Hence Range and Maximum height are equal for all those bodies
which are thrown by same velocity and direction. Air resistance does not affect displacement of
projectile.
The horizontal range d of the projectile is the horizontal distance the projectile has travelled when it
returns to its initial height (y = 0).

.
From the horizontal displacement the maximum distance of projectile:
, so,

Note that

has its maximum value when

,

which necessarily corresponds to

,
or
.

Some examples of projectile

The Components Of a Projectile

Horizontal Component of the Velocity : Whenever the projectile is thrown or follows the trajectory,
the horizontal component of the velocity does not changes and the displacements covered by the
horizontal components of the velocity are uniform. In other words, final horizontal velocity component
is equal to the initial velocity component.
Vertical Component of the Velocity : Vertical component of the velocity does not remain constant
during the projectile motion. Gravity force acts on it and changes the vertical component of the
velocity of the projectile. The displacements covered by the vertical component of the velocity are
not uniform.
For the vertical component of the velocity during the projectile motion, change in both the magnitude
and direction takes place. If the projectile is moving in the upward direction, then the vertical
component of the velocity is in the upward direction and decrease in its magnitude takes place.
On the other hand, when the projectile moves in the downward direction, the direction of the vertical
components of the velocity is in the downward direction and increase in the magnitude takes place.
Ideal projectile motion states that there is no air resistance and no change in gravitational
acceleration. This assumption simplifies the mathematics greatly, and is a close approximation of
actual projectile motion in cases where the distances travelled are small..

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my special thanks to my teacher Ms.
Deepa Arya, for teaching us with such a good approach and
always trying to be conducive to our learning. It was all because
of her constant efforts that this project could become a success. I
would also like to thank our principal Mr. Vincent Ashish Moses
who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project.
Moreover, Mr. SK Mishra, our lab assistant also helped me in doing
a lot of experimental work in the school laboratory and
enlightened me furthermore.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and friends who
helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time
frame.
Thirdly and lastly, Id like to thank our school management for providing
me all the required equipments.

INDEX
S. No.
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

TOPIC
Projectile Motion
Kinematic quantities of projectile motion
Examples of Projectile Motion
Range
Components of projectile motion

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Bhavya Jain of class XI-A, The Srijan School,
has successfully completed her project on the topic To
demonstrate the effect of angle of launch on the range of a
projectile, during the academic session 2014-2015 as per the
guidelines issued by Central Board Of Secondary Education, under
the guidance of Ms Deepa Arya within the stipulated time frame.