Phillip Hamilton: Year 12 projectile motion assignment

Experiment on projectile motion

Aim: To calculate the initial velocity of the projectile when launched and to observe the motion paths for each
different

Introduction
The projectile used was an Air-rocket (even though it isnt actually a rocket). It works by air being pumped into capsule which is connected to the air rocket by a hollow tube. When the air-pressure is high enough, the air rocket is launched into the air. For the remainder of this report the air rocket will be referred to as the projectile.

Method: At a football field approximately 100m by 50m in dimension, the experiment took place.
The projectile was launched 9 times, each with a different launch angle and launch velocity (on repeating launch angles). Different velocities are acquired through raising the pressure the launch device to build to. 5 times were taken for each projectile launch using stop-watches correct to 10-2 seconds and after every time the projectile was launched, the displacement of the projectile from the launch device was recorded using a trundle-wheel. With each launch, the launch angle (relative to the ground) was found by using a protractor (large). DIAGRAM

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Phillip Hamilton: Year 12 projectile motion assignment When each flights data had been collected it was collated together for each flight. This data included launch angle, velocity (in terms of normal, fast and very fast), each of the 5 recorded times and the displacement of each flight. Results The raw data looks as follows Flight time is measured in seconds, launch angle is measured in degrees, displacement is measured in metres and velocity is measured in normal, fast or very fast. Flight 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Launch angle 45 60 30 70 45 30 60 70 45 Time 1 4.10 5.27 3.49 4.12 5.62 4.64 5.20 5.51 6.07 Time 2 4.15 5.28 3.51 4.07 5.58 4.60 5.21 5.57 60.4 Time 3 4.11 5.30 3.63 3.78 4.64 4.60 5.26 5.54 5.96 Time 4 4.11 5.27 3.47 3.83 5.65 4.62 5.18 5.50 6.19 Time 5 3.97 5.21 3.38 3.85 5.62 4.66 5.16 5.57 5.97 Launch velocity Normal Normal Normal Normal Fast Fast Fast Fast Very fast Displacement 68 46 52.5 26 70 100 59.5 35.5 108

To get a relatively reliable time-of-flight, the 5 times for each flight are averaged then 0.2 seconds is added on to account for human reaction time (a standard human reaction time to sight is around 0.15 to 0.25 seconds, so 0.20 is taken as a reaction time)

Flight 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Launch Angle 45 60 30 70 45 30 60 70 45

Time 4.29 5.47 3.70 4.13 5.62 4.82 5.40 5.74 6.25

Launch Velocity Normal Normal Normal Normal Fast Fast Fast Fast Very fast

Displacement 68 46 52.5 26 70 100 59.5 35.5 108

Even though the angles of launch were measured, they may not be correct because they may have changed on launch or the device keeping it at that angle (a human hand) may have slipped. For each launch, the angle given by the collected data will be calculated. This is done by

where = the launch angle, g=gravity (9.8ms-2), t= time and R equals the projectiles displacement. When this is done the initial velocity will be able to be calculated by the equation Thus Document1