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Projectile Motion

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Mohd Zaid
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35 views

Projectile Motion

Uploaded by

Mohd Zaid
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PROJECTILE

MOTION
The motion of objects soaring through the air has been a source of
fascination for scientists and curious individuals throughout history. In
physics, projectile motion is a fundamental concept that unveils the
captivating nature of objects propelled into the air, guided solely by the
force of gravity. This article explores projectile motion, unravelling its
core principles, delving into its mathematical formulations and shedding
light on its practical applications in the real world.

What Is Projectile?
A projectile is any object thrown into space upon which the only acting
force is gravity. The primary force acting on a projectile is gravity. This
doesn’t necessarily mean that other forces do not act on it, just that their
effect is minimal compared to gravity. The path followed by a projectile
is known as a trajectory. A baseball batted or thrown is an example of a
projectile.

What Is Projectile Motion?


When a particle is thrown obliquely near the earth’s surface, it moves
along a curved path under constant acceleration directed towards the
centre of the earth (we assume that the particle remains close to the
earth’s surface). The path of such a particle is called a projectile, and the
motion is called projectile motion.
In a Projectile Motion, there are two simultaneous independent
rectilinear motions:
1. Along the x-axis: uniform velocity, responsible for
the horizontal (forward) motion of the particle.
2. Along the y-axis: uniform acceleration, responsible for
the vertical (downwards) motion of the particle.
Acceleration in the horizontal projectile motion and vertical
projectile motion of a particle: When a particle is projected in the air
with some speed, the only force acting on it during its time in the air is
the acceleration due to gravity (g). This acceleration acts vertically
downward. There is no acceleration in the horizontal direction, which
means that the velocity of the particle in the horizontal direction remains
constant.

Parabolic Motion of Projectiles


Let us consider a ball projected at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal x-axis with the initial
velocity u as shown below:
The point O is called the point of projection; θ is the angle of projection and OB =
Horizontal Range or Simply Range. The total time taken by the particle from reaching O to B is
called the time of flight.

For finding different parameters related to projectile motion, we can make use of
differential equations of motions:

Total Time of Flight


Resultant displacement (s) = 0 in Vertical direction. Therefore, the time of flight formula is
given by using the Equation of motion:

gt2 = 2(uyt – sy) [Here, uy = u sin θ and sy = 0]

i.e. gt2 = 2t × u sin θ

Therefore, the time of flight formula (t) is given by:

TIME OF FLIGHT=2usinθ/g

Horizontal Range
Horizontal Range (OA) = Horizontal component of velocity (ux) × Total Flight Time (t)
R = u cos θ × 2u×sinθg

Therefore, in a projectile motion, the Horizontal Range is given by (R):

HORIZONTAL RANGE=U2 sinθ/g

Maximum Height of Projectile


After understanding what a projectile is, let us know the maximum
height of the projectile. The object’s maximum height is the highest
vertical position along its trajectory. The horizontal displacement of the
projectile is called the range of the projectile. The range of the projectile
depends on the object’s initial velocity.
If v is the initial velocity, g = acceleration due to gravity and H =
maximum height in meter , θ = angle of the initial velocity from the
horizontal plane (radians or degrees).
The maximum height of the projectile is given by the formula:

The Equation of Trajectory


��������������������=�tan⁡Θ−��22�2���2Θ

This is the equation of trajectory in projectile motion, and it proves that the projectile motion is
always parabolic in nature.

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