Page No: 1

MOTION IN A PLANE
Expression for position vector
Figure shows the position vectors OP of a particle located at P with respect to
the origin O. If (x, y) are the coordinates of point P, then
OP  OA  OB

or r  xî  yĵ

This equation expresses position vector r in terms of its rectangular components x and y.

Expression for Displacement Vector: Suppose a particle moves in the X–Y plane along the curved path shown
in figure. The particle is at point P (x, y) at time t and at P' (x', y') at time t'.

Using triangle laws of vectors addition,

 
OP'  OP  PP' or, r '  r  r

or  r  r'  r

This direction of  r is form P to P'. In terms of rectangular components,

r  (x' î  y' ĵ)  (x î  y ĵ)

= (x'  x)î  ( y'  y) ĵ or r  xî  yĵ
Average velocity in terms of its rectangular components
Average Velocity: Refer to above figure. Suppose the particle moves from point P to P' in time t to t'. The
average velocity of an object is ratio of the displacement and the corresponding time interval. So it is given by

 r x î  yĵ x y
v   î  ĵ [Here t = t' – t]
t t t t
 
or v  v x î  v y ĵ
 
This equation expresses average velocity v in terms of its rectangular components v x and v y .

r 
As v  , so the direction of the average velocity is same as that of displacement vector  r , as shown in
t
above figure.
Instantaneous velocity: The instantaneous velocity of a particle is equal to the limiting value of its average
velocity when the time interval approaches zero. It is given by
 
 r dr
v  lim 
t  0 t dt
 Page No: 2

 
As the average velocity approaches the velocity v. The direction of v is parallel to the line tangent to the path.
The direction of (instantaneous) velocity at any point on the path of an object is tangent to the path at that point
and is in direction of motion.
Velocity in terms of rectangular components. The instantaneous velocity is given by

dr r x î  y ĵ
v   lim  lim
dt t  0 t  t  0 t
 x   y  dx dy 
=  lim  î   lim  ĵ  î  ĵ or v x  v x î  v y ĵ.
 t  0 t   t  0 t  dt dt

If the coordinate x and y are known as function of time t, then we can determine v x and vy. The magnitude of v
will be v  v 2x  v 2y
 
Figure, shows the rectangular compounds vx and vy of velocity v. If v makes angle  with X–axis, then
vy  vy 
tan  = or   tan1  

vx  vx 

Average acceleration in terms of its rectangular components

Average Acceleration. The average acceleration of an object is the ratio of the change in velocity and the

corresponding time interval. If the velocity of an object changes from v to v' in time t, then the average
acceleration is given by
 
v'  v v ( v x î  v y ĵ) v x v y 
a =   î  ĵ or a  a x î  a y ĵ
t t t t t

    v
This equation expresses average acceleration a in terms of its rectangular components a x and a y . As a  , so
t

the direction of average acceleration is same as that of the change in velocity v.
Instantaneous Acceleration
The instantaneous acceleration of an object is equal to the limiting value of its average acceleration when the
time interval approaches zero. It is given by
 
 v dv
a  lim 
t  0 t dt
 Page No: 3

Direction of Instantaneous Acceleration

In figure (a) to (d), the thick line curve represents the path of object’s motion. In each case, the change in

velocity  v is obtained by using triangle law of vector addition. Again, in each case the direction of average
 
acceleration a is shown parallel to v.

Note
For motion in one dimension, the velocity and acceleration are always along the same line either in same
direction (for accelerated motion) or in opposite direction (for decelerated motion).
For motion in two or three dimensions, the angle between velocity and acceleration vectors may have any value
between 0o and 180o.
Acceleration in terms of rectangular components
  ( v x î  v y ĵ) v y 
 dv v  v x  
a  lim  lim   lim î   lim  ĵ

dt t  0 t t  0 t  t  0 t   t  0 t 
dv x dv y 
= î  ĵ or a  a x î  a y ĵ
dt dt

This equation expresses acceleration a in terms of its rectangular component ax and ay. We can express ax and ay
in terms of coordinates x and y as follows:
dv d  dx  d 2 x dv y d  dy  d 2 y
ax  x    2 and ay    
dt dt  dt  dt dt dt  dt  dt 2
Motion in a Plane With Constant Acceleration
Velocity vector for uniform acceleration
 
If v 0 and v be the velocity vectors at times t = 0 and t = t respectively, then the acceleration is given by
   
 v  v0 v  v0
a 
t 0 t
  
or v  v0  a t
Writing the above equation in terms of rectangular components, we get
v x î  v y ĵ  v 0 x î  v oy ĵ  (a x î  a y ĵ) t

or v x î  v y ĵ  (v 0 x  a x t ) î  (v 0 y  a y t ) ĵ

Comparing the coefficients of î and ĵ on both sides of the above equation, we get
vx = v0x + axt and vy = v0y + ayt
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The above two equations show that each rectangular component of velocity of an object moving with uniform
acceleration in a plane depends upon time as if it were the velocity of one–dimensional uniformly accelerated
motion.
Position vector for uniform acceleration
 
Consider a particle moving with uniform acceleration a . Let r0 and r be its position vectors at times 0 and t
 
and let the velocities at these instants be v 0 and v. Now
Displacement = Average velocity  time interval
   
  v0  v v 0  (v 0  a t)  1
or r  r0  t  t = v0 t  a t 2
2 2 2
   1
or r  r0  v 0 t  a t 2
2
This equation gives position of a uniformly accelerated particle at time t. Writing the above equation in terms of
rectangular components, we get
1
xî  yĵ  x 0 î  y 0 ĵ  ( v 0 x î  v 0 y ĵ) t  (a x î  a y ĵ) t 2
2
Equating the coefficients of î and ĵ on both sides, we get
1
x = x0 + v0x t + ax t 2
2
1
and y = y0 + v0y t + ay t2
2
The above two equations show that the motions in x and y directions can be treated independently of each other.
Thus, the motion in a plane with uniform acceleration can be treated as the superposition of two separate
simultaneous one–dimensional motions along two perpendicular directions.
Note
In uniform acceleration, the position vector at time t,
   1
r  ro  v o t  a t 2
2
Similarly, position vector at time t' is
1
r '  ro  v o t '  a t ' 2
2
 1  1
 r'  r  v o (t '  t )  a (t '2  t 2 ) or r'  r  v o (t '  t )  a (t '2  t 2 )
2 2
  
Prove that v  v 0  2a . ( r0  r0 ). v
2 2

From first equation of motion,

     
v  v0  a t or v  v0  a t … (1)
Now, displacement = Average velocity  time interval
 
  v  v0
or r  r0  t
2
 
  2( r  r0 )
or v  v0  … (2)
t
Taking the dot products of the corresponding sides of the equation (1) and (2), we get
 
     ( r  r0 )  
( v  v0 ) .( v  v0 )  a t. 2 or v 2  v 02  2a. ( r  r0 )
t
 Page No: 5

Subjective Assignment – I
Q.1 A cyclist moves along a circular path of radius 70 m. If he completes one round in 11 s, calculate (i)
total length of path, (ii) magnitude of the displacement, (iii) average speed, and (iv) magnitude of
average velocity.
Q.2 A particle is moving eastwards with a velocity of 5 ms–1. In 10 seconds, the velocity changes to 5 ms–1
northwards. Find the average acceleration of the particle in this time interval.

Q.3 The position of a particle is given by r  3.0t î  2.0 t 2 ĵ  5.0 k̂ where t is in seconds and the coefficients
have the proper units for r to be in metres. (a) Find v(t) and a(t) of the particle. (b) Find the magnitude
and direction of v(t) at t = 3.0 s.

Q.4 If the position vector of a particle is given by: r  (4 cos 2t )î  (4 sin 2t ) ĵ  (6t )k̂ m, calculate its
acceleration at t = /4.
Q.5 A body is moving with a uniform velocity of 10 ms–1 on a circular path of diameter 2.0 m. Calculate (i)
the difference between the magnitude of the displacement of the body and the distance covered in half
a round and (ii) the magnitude of the change in velocity of the body in half a round.
Q.6 A particle starts from origin at t = 0 with a velocity 5.0 î m/s and moves in x–y plane under action of a
force which produces a constant acceleration of (3.0î  2.0 ĵ) m / s 2 . (a) What is the y–coordinate of the
particle at the instant its x–coordinate is 84 m? (b) What is the speed of the particle at this time?
Answers
1
1. (i) 440 m, (ii) 0 (iii) 40 ms–1 (iv) 0 2. ms2 , along N–W direction
2
3. 3.0î  4.0t ĵ, 4.0 ĵ , 12.4 ms–1, ~ 76o 4. 16 ĵ ms2
5. 1.14m, 20 ms–1 6. (a) 36.0 m, (b) 25.9 ms–1

Relative Velocity in Two Dimensions

Relative velocity: The relative velocity of an object A with respect to object B, when both are in motion, is the
rate of change of position of object A with respect to object B. Suppose two objects A and B are moving with
 
velocities v A and v B , with respect to ground or the earth.
Then
  
Relative velocity of object A w.r.t object B, v AB  v A  v B
  
Relative velocity of object B w.r.t. object A, v BA  v B  v A
Clearly,
   
vAB   vBA and | vAB | | vBA |
 
Now, relative velocity of object A  v A  (v B )
Ex.1 A man moving in rain holds his umbrella inclined to the vertical even though the rain drops are falling
velocity downwards. Why?
Sol. Rain and man: The man experiences the velocity of rain relative to
himself. To protect himself from the rain, the man should hold
umbrella in the direction of relative velocity of rain w.r.t. the man.

As shown in figure, consider a man moving due east with velocity v M .

Suppose the rain falls vertically with velocity v R . The relative velocity of rain
    
w.r.t. the man is v RM  v R  v M  v R  (v M )  OB  OC  OD
It OD makes angle  with the vertical, then
 Page No: 6

DB v M
tan   
B v R
So the man can protect himself from rain by holding his umbrella at an angle 
with the vertical in the direction of his motion.
Subjective Assignment – II
Q.1 A boat is moving with a velocity (3î  4 ĵ) with respect to ground. The water in the river is moving with
a velocity –3i – 4j with respect to ground. What is the relative velocity of boat with respect to river?
Q.2 A particle P is moving along a straight line with a velocity of 3 ms –1 and another particle Q has a
velocity of 4 ms–1 at an angle of 30o to the path of P. Find the speed of Q relative to P.
Q.3 To a driver east in a car with a velocity of 40 km h–1, a bus appears to move towards north with a
velocity of 40 3 km h–1. What is the actual velocity and direction of motion of the bus?
Q.4 A man rows directly across a flowing river in time t 1 and rows an equal distance down the stream in
time t2. If u be the speed of man in still water and v that of stream, then show that:
t1 : t 2  u  v : u  v
Q.5 A train is moving with a velocity of 30 km h–1 due east and a car is moving with a velocity of 40 km h–1
due north. What the velocity of car is as appears to a passenger in the train?
Q.6 Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 35 ms–1. A woman rides a bicycle with a speed of 12 ms–1 in
east to west direction. What is the direction in which she should hold her umbrella?
Q.7 To a person moving eastwards with a velocity of 4.8 km h–1, rain appears to fall vertically downwards
with a speed of 6.4 km h–1. Find the actual speed and direction of the rain.
Q.8 A ship is streaming towards east with a speed of 12 ms–1. A woman runs across the deck at a speed of
5 ms–1 in the direction at right angles to the direction of motion of the ship i.e., towards north. What is
the velocity of the woman relative to the sea?
Q.9 A plane is travelling eastwards at a speed of 500 km h–1. But a 90 km h–1 wind is blowing southward.
What is the direction and speed of the plane relative to the ground?
Q.10 A reckless drunk is playing with a gun in an airplane that is going directly east at 500 km h –1. The
drunk shoots the gun straight up at the ceiling of the plane. The bullet leaves the gun at a speed of 1000
km h–1.Relative to an observer on earth, what angle does the bullet make with the vertical?
Answers
1. 6î  8 ĵ 2. 2.1 ms–1
3. 80 km h–1,  = 30o, east of north 5. 50 km h–1, 36o52' west of north
o
6. At an angle of 19 with the vertical towards the west
7. 8 kmh–1, 53o7'33'' with the horizontal 8. 13 ms–1, 22o37' north of east
9. 10.2o south of east, 508 km h–1 10. 26.6o
Projectile
A projectile is the name given to any body which once thrown into space with some initial velocity, moves
thereafter under the influence of gravity alone without being propelled by any engine or fuel. The path followed
by a projectile is called its trajectory.
Examples of projectile motion
(i) A javelin thrown by an athlete
(ii) An object dropped from an aeroplane
(iii) A bullet fired from a rifle.
(iv) A jet of water coming out from the side hole of vessel.
(v) A stone thrown horizontally from the top of a building
 Page No: 7

Projectile Given Horizontal Projection

As shown in figure, suppose a body is projected horizontally with velocity u from a point O at a certain height h
above the ground level. The body is under the influence of two simultaneous independent motions:
(i) Uniform horizontal velocity u.
(ii) Vertically downward accelerated motion with constant acceleration g.
Under the combined effect of the above two motions, the body moves along the
path OPA.
Trajectory of the projectile
After the time t, suppose the body reaches the point P (x, y).
The horizontal distance covered by the body in time t is
x
x = ut  t =
u
The vertical distance travelled by the body in time t is given by
1
s = ut + at2
2
1 1
or y = 0  t + gt 2  gt 2
2 2
[For vertical motion, u = 0]
2
1 x  g   x
or y  g     2 x 2  t  u 
2  u   2u   
g
or y = k x2 [here k = = a constant]
x 2
As y is a quadratic function of x, so the trajectory of the projectile is a parabola.
Time of flight
It is the total time for which the projectile remains in its flight (from O to A). Let T be its time of flight. For the
vertical downward motion of the body, we use
1 2 1 2h
s = ut + at or h = 0  T + gT2 or T .
2 2 g
Horizontal Range
It is the horizontal distance covered by the projectile during its time of flight. It is equal to OA = R. Thus
2h
R = Horizontal velocity  time of flight = u  T or R=u
g
Velocity of the projectile at any instant
At the instant t (when the body is at point P), let the velocity of the projectile be v. The velocity v has two
rectangular components:
Horizontal component of velocity, vx = u
Vertical component of velocity, vy = 0 + gt = gt
 The resultant velocity at point P is
v  v 2x  v 2y  u 2  g 2 t 2
If the velocity v makes an angle  with the horizontal, then
v y gt  gt 
tan  =  or  = tan–1  .
vx u u
 Page No: 8

Subjective Assignment – III

Q.1 A hiker stands on the edge of a cliff 490 m above the ground and throws a stone horizontally with an
initial speed of 15 ms–1. Neglecting air resistance, find the time taken by the stone to each the ground,
and the speed with which it hits the ground. (Take g = 9.8 ms–2)
Q.2 A projectile is fired horizontally with a velocity of 98 ms–1 from the top of a hill 490 m high. Find
(i) the time taken to reach the ground (ii) the distance of the target from the hill and (iii) the velocity
with which the projectile hits the ground.
Q.3 A body is thrown horizontally from the top of a tower and strikes the ground after three seconds at an
angle of 45o with the horizontal. Find the height of the tower and the speed with which the body was
projected. Take g = 9.8 ms–2.
Q.4 A bomb is dropped from an aeroplane when it is directly above a target at a height of 1000 m. The
aeroplane is moving horizontally with a speed of 5000 kmh–1. By how much distance will the bomb
miss the target?
Q.5 A body is projected horizontally from the top of a cliff with a velocity of 9.8 ms–1.What time elapses
before horizontal and vertical velocities become equal? Take g = 9.8 ms–2.
Q.6 A marksman wishes to hit a target just in the same level as the line of sight. How high from the target
he should aim, if the distance of the target is 1600 m and the muzzle velocity of the gun is 800 ms–1?
Take g = 9.8 ms–2.
Q.7 Two tall buildings face each other and are at a distance of 180m from each other. With what velocity
must a ball be thrown horizontally from a window 55 m above the ground in one building, so that it
enters a window 10.9 m above the ground in the second building?
Q.8 A plane is flying horizontally at a height of 1000m with a velocity of 100 ms–1 when a bomb is released
from it. Find (i) the time taken by it to reach the ground (ii) the velocity with which the bomb hits the
target and (iii) the distance of the target.
Q.9 From the top of a building 19.6m high, a ball is projected horizontal. After how long does it strike the
ground? If the line joining the point of projection to the point where it hits the ground makes an angle
of 45o with the horizontal, what is the initial velocity of the ball?
Q.10 A body is thrown horizontally from the top of a tower and strikes the ground after two seconds at angle
of 45o with the horizontal. Find the height of the tower and the speed with which the body was thrown.
Take g = 9.8 ms–2
Q.11 Two tall buildings are situated 200 m apart. With what speed must a ball be thrown horizontally from
the window 540 m above the ground in one building, so that it will enter a window 50 m above the
ground in the other?
Q.12 A stone is dropped from the window of a bus moving at 60 kmh–1. If the windows is 1.96 m high, find
the distance along the track, which the stone moves before striking the ground.
Q.13 A mailbag is to be dropped into a post office from an aeroplane flying horizontally with a velocity of
270 kmh–1 at a height of 176.4 m above the ground. How far must the aeroplane be from the post office
at the time of dropping the bag so that it directly falls into the post office?
Q.14 In between two hills of heights 100 m and 92m respectively, there is a valley of breadth 16m. If a
vehicle jumps from the first hill to the second, what must be its minimum horizontal velocity so that it
may not fall into the valley? Take g = 9 ms–2.
Q.15 A ball is projected horizontally from a tower with a velocity of 4 ms –1. Find the velocity of the ball
after 0.7s. Take g = 10 ms–2.
 Page No: 9

Answers
–1
1. 10s, 99.1 ms , 2. (i) 10s, (ii) 980 m, (iii) 138.59 ms–1,  = 45o
–1
3. 44.1 m, 29.4 ms 4. 1984.13 m 5. 1s
6. 19.6 m 7. 60 ms–1
8. (i) 14.28s (ii) 172.1 ms–1,  = 54o28', (iii) 1428.5 m 9. 2s, 9.8 ms–1
–1 –1
10. 19.6 m, 19.6 ms 11. 20 ms 12. 10.54 m
13. 450 m 14. 12 ms–1 15. 8.06 ms–1, 60o15'

Projectile Given Angular Projection

Projectile fired at an angle  with the horizontal
As shown in figure, suppose a body is projected with initial
velocity u, making an angle  with the horizontal. The velocity
u has two rectangular components:
(i) The horizontal component u cos , which remains
constant throughout the motion.
(ii) The vertical component u sin , which changes with
time under the effect of gravity. This component first
decreases, becomes zero at the highest point A, after
which it again increases, till the projectile hits the
ground.
Under the combined effect of the above two components, the body follows the parabolic path OAB as shown in
the figure.
Equation of trajectory of a projectile
Suppose the body reaches the point P (x, y) after time t.
 The horizontal distance covered by the body in time t,
x = Horizontal velocity  time = u cos . t
x
or t=
u cos 
For vertical motion: u = u sin , a = – g, so the vertical distance covered in time t is given by
1
s = ut + at 2
2
x 1 x2
or y = u sin  .  g. 2
u cos  2 u cos 
g
or y = x tan  – x2
2u cos2 
2

or y = px – qx2
where p and q are constants.
Thus y is a quadratic function of x. Hence the trajectory of a projectile is a parabola.
Time of maximum height
Let tm be the time taken by the projectile to reach the maximum height h m. At the highest point, vertical
component of velocity = 0
As v = u + at  0 = u sin  – g tm
u sin 
or tm 
g
 Page No: 10

Time of flight
It is the time taken by the projectile from the instant it is projected till it reaches a point in the horizontal plane
of its projection. The body reaches the point B after the time of flight Tf.
 Net vertical displacement covered during the time of flight = 0
1
As s = ut + at 2
2
1 2 u sin 
 0 = u sin . Tf gTf2 or Tf 
2 g
Obviously, Tf = 2tm. This is expected because the time of ascent is equal to the time of descent for the
symmetrical parabolic path.
Maximum height of a projectile
It is the maximum vertical distance attained by the projectile above the horizontal plane of projection. It is
denoted by hm.
At the highest point A, vertical component of velocity = 0
As v2 – u2 = 2as
 02 – (u sin )2 = 2 (–g) hm
u 2 sin 2 
or hm 
2g
Horizontal Range (R)
It is the horizontal distance travelled by the projectile during its time of flight. So
Horizontal range = Horizontal velocity  time of flight
2u sin  u 2
or R = u cos    . 2 sin  cos 
g g
u 2 sin 2
or R= [ 2 sin  cos  = sin 2 ]
g
Condition for the maximum horizontal range. The horizontal range is given by
u 2 sin 2
R=
g
Clearly, R will be maximum when
sin 2 = 1 = sin 90o
or 2 = 90o or  = 45o
Thus the horizontal range of a projectile is maximum when it is projected an angle of 45o with the horizontal.
The maximum horizontal range is given by
u 2 sin 90o u 2 1
Rm = 
g g
or Rm = u2/g
Two angles of projection for the same horizontal range
The horizontal range of a projectile projected at an angle  with the horizontal with velocity u is given by
u 2 sin 2 
R=
g
Replacing  by (90o – ), we get
 Page No: 11

u 2 sin 2 (90o  )
R' =
g
u 2 sin (180o  2) u 2 sin 2 
= 
g g
i.e., R' = R
Hence for a given velocity of projection, a projectile has the same horizontal range for the angles of projection 
and (90o – ). As shown in figure, the horizontal range is maximum for 45o. Clearly, R is same for  = 15o and
75o but less than Rm. Again R is same for  = 30o and 60o.
When the angle of projection is (90o – ) with the horizontal, the angle of projection with the vertical is . This
indicates that the horizontal range is same whether  is the angle of projection with the horizontal or with the
vertical as shown in figure.

Velocity of projectile at any instant. As shown in figure, suppose the projectile has velocity v at the instant t
when it is at point P(x, y). The velocity v has two rectangular components:
Horizontal component of velocity,
vx = u cos 
Vertical component of velocity,
vy = u sin  – gt [Using v = u + at]
The resultant velocity at point P is
v  v2x  v2y  (v cos )2  (u sin   gt )2

or v  v2  g 2 t 2  2u gt sin 
It the velocity v makes an angle  with the vertical, then
v u sin   gt
tan  = y 
vx u cos 
Velocity of projectile at the end point. At the end of flight,
2 u sin 
t = total time of flight =
g
So the resultant velocity is
4u 2 sin 2  2u sin 
v'  v 2  g 2 . 2
 2ug. .sin 
g g

= u2  u
2u sin 
u sin   g.
g
Also, tan  =
u cos 
 Page No: 12

u sin 
=–   tan  tan( )
u cos 
or =–
The negative sign shows that the projectile is moving downwards. Thus in projectile motion, a body returns to
the ground at the same angle and with the same speed at which it was projected.
Note:
 A body is said to be projectile if it is projected into space with some initial velocity and then it continues
to move in a vertical plane such that its horizontal acceleration is zero and vertical downward
acceleration is equal to g.
 In projectile motion, the horizontal motion and the vertical motion are independent of each other i.e.,
neither motion affects the other.
 The horizontal range is maximum for  = 45o and Rm = u2/g
 The horizontal range is same when the angle of projection is  and (90o – )
 Again, the horizontal range is same for the angles of projection of (45o + ) and (45o – )
 At the highest point of the parabolic path, the velocity and acceleration of a projectile are perpendicular
each other.
 The velocity at the end of flight of an oblique projectile is the same in magnitude as at the beginning but
the angle that it makes with the horizontal is negative of the angle of projection.
 In projectile motion, the kinetic energy is maximum at the point of projection or point of reaching the
ground and is minimum at the highest point.
 There are two values of time for which the projectile is at the same height. The sum of these two times
is equal to the time of flight.
 The maximum horizontal range is four times the maximum height attained by the projectile, when fired
at  = 45o. Thus hm = Rm/4 = u2/ 4g.
 If a body is projected from a place above the surface of the earth, then for the maximum range the angle
of projection should be slightly less than 45o. For javelin throw and discus throw, the athlete throws the
projectile at an angle slightly less than 45o to the horizontal for achieving maximum range.
 The trajectory of a projectile is parabolic only when the acceleration of the projectile is constant and the
direction of acceleration is different from the direction of projectile’s initial velocity. The acceleration
of a projectile thrown from the earth is equal to acceleration due to gravity (g) which remains constant if
(i) the projectile does not go to a very large height.
(ii) the range of the projectile is not very large.
(iii) the initial velocity of the projectile is not large.
Thus the trajectory of a bullet fired from a gun will be parabolic, but not so the trajectory of a missile.
 The shape of the trajectory of motion of an object is not determined by position alone but also depends
on its initial position and initial velocity. Under the same acceleration due to gravity, the trajectory of an
object can be a straight line or a parabola depending on the initial conditions.
Subjective Assignment – IV
Q.1 A cricket ball is thrown at a speed of 28 ms–1 in a direction 30o above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the
maximum height, (b) the time taken by the ball to return to the same level, (c) the horizontal distance
from the thrower to the point where the ball returns to the same level.
Q.2 A body is projected with a velocity of 30 ms–1 at an angle of 30o with the vertical. Find the maximum
height, time of flight and the horizontal range.
Q.3 A projectile has a range of 50 m and reaches a maximum height of 10 m .Calculate the angle at which
the projectile is fired.
 Page No: 13

Q.4 A body stands at 39.2m from a building and throws a ball which just passes through a window 19.6 m
(maximum height) above the ground. Calculate the velocity of projection of the ball.
Q.5 Find the angle of projection for which the horizontal range and the maximum height are equal.
Q.6 Prove that the maximum horizontal range is four times the maximum height attained by the projectile,
when fired at an inclination so as to have maximum horizontal range.
Q.7 A ball is kicked at an angle of 30o with the vertical. If the horizontal component of its velocity is
19.6 ms–1, find the maximum height and horizontal range.
Q.8 Show that a given gun will shoot three times as high when elevated at an angle of 60 o as when fired at
angle of 30o but will carry the same distance on a horizontal plane.
Q.9 A ball is thrown at an angle  and another ball is thrown at an angle (90o – ) with the horizontal
direction from the same point with velocity 39.2 ms–1. The second ball reaches 50 m higher than the
first ball. Find their individual heights. Take g = 9.8 ms–2.
Q.10 Show that there are two angles of projection for which the horizontal range is the same. Also show that
the sum of the maximum heights for these two angles is independent of the angle of projection.
Q.11 Show that there are two values of time for which a projectile is at the same height. Also show that the
sum of these two time is equal to the time of flight.
Q.12 A hunter aims his gun and fires a bullet directly at a monkey on a tree. At the instant the bullet leaves
the barrel of the gun, the monkey drops. Will the bullet hit the monkey? Substantiate your answer with
proper reasoning.
Q.13 At what angle should a body be projected with a velocity 24 ms–1 just to pass over the obstacle 16 m
high at a horizontal distance of 32 m? Take g = 10 ms–2.
Q.14 A target is fixed on the top of a pole 13 metre high. A person standing at a distance of 50 metre from
the pole is capable of projecting a stone with a velocity 10 g ms–1. If he wants to strike the target in
shortest possible time, at what angle should he project the stone?
Q.15 A particle is projected over a triangle from one end of a horizontal base and grazing the vertex falls on
the other end of the base. If  and  be the base angles and  the angle of projection, prove that
tan  = tan  + tan .
Answers
1. (a) 10.0 m, (b) 2.9 s, (c) 69.3 m 2. 34.44m, 5.3s, 79.53 m
3. 38.66 o
4. 27.72 ms–1
o
5. 75 58' 7. 58.8m, 135.8m
8. 3:1 9. 14.2m, 64.2 m
o o
13. 67 54' or 48 40' 14. 30o58'

Subjective Assignment – V
Q.1 A football player kicks ball at an angle of 37o to the horizontal with an initial speed of 15 ms–1.
Assuming that the ball travels in a vertical plane, calculate (i) the time at which the ball reaches the
highest point (ii) the maximum height reached (iii) the horizontal range of the projectile and (iv) the
time for which the ball is in air.
Q.2 A body is projected with a velocity of 20 ms–1 in a direction making an angle of 60o with the
horizontal. Calculate its (i) position after 0.5s and (ii) velocity after 0.5 s.
Q.3 The maximum vertical height of a projectile is 10m. If the magnitude of the initial velocity is 28 ms –1,
what is the direction of the initial velocity? Take g = 9.8 ms–2.
Q.4 A bullet fired from a gun with a velocity of 140 ms–1 strikes the ground at the same level as the gun at a
distance of 1 km. Find the angle of inclination with the horizontal at which the bullet is fired.
Take g = 9.8 ms–2.
 Page No: 14

Q.5 A bullet is fired at an angle of 15o with the horizontal and hits the ground 6 km away. Is it possible to
hit a target 10 km away by adjusting the angle of projection assuming the initial speed to the same?
Q.6 A cricketer can throw a ball to maximum horizontal distance of 160 m. Calculate the maximum vertical
height to which he can throw the ball. Given g = 10 ms–2.
Q.7 A football is kicked 20 ms–1 at a projection angle of 45o.A receiver on the goal line 25 metres away in
the direction of the kick runs the same instant to meet the ball. What may be his speed, if he is to catch
the ball before it hit the ground?
Q.8 A bullet fired at an angle of 60o with the vertical hits the ground at a distance of 2 km. Calculate the
distance at which the bullet will hit the ground when fired at an angle of 45 o, assuming the speed to be
the same.
Q.9 A person observes a bird on a tree 39.6 m high and at a distance of 59.2 m. With what velocity the
person should throw an arrow at an angle of 45o so that it may hit the bird?
Q.10 A ball is thrown from the top of a tower with an initial velocity of 10 ms –1 an at angle of 30o with the
horizontal. If it hits the ground at a distance of 17.3m from the base of the tower, calculate the height of
the tower. Given g = 10 ms–2.
Q.11 A body is projected with velocity of 40 ms–1. After 2s it crosses a vertical pole of height 20.4 m.
Calculate the angle of projection and horizontal range.
Q.12 From the top of a tower 156.8m high, a projectile is thrown up with velocity of 39.2 ms –1 making an
angle of 30o with the horizontal direction. Find the distance from the foot of the tower where it strikes
the ground and the time taken by it to do so.
Q.13 As shown in figure, a body is projected with velocity u1 from the point A. At the same time another
body is projected vertically upwards with the velocity u2 from the point B. What should be the value of
u1/ u2 for both bodies to collide?

Q.14 A body is projected such that its kinetic energy at the top is 3/4 th of its initial kinetic energy. What is
the initial angle of projection of the projectile with the horizontal?

Answers
1. (i) 0.92s, (ii) 4.16m, (iii) 21.2m, (iv)1.84 s
2. (i) x = 5m, y = 7.43m, (ii) 15.95 ms–1,  = 51.16o 3. 30o 4. 15o
–1
5. Yes 6. 80 m 7. 5.483 ms 8. 2.31 km
–1 o
9. 41.86 ms 10. 10 m 11. 30 , 141.39 m 12. 271.6 m, 8s
2
13. 14. 30o
3
 Page No: 15

Projection up on an inclined plane

Let us consider a particle is projected with velocity u at an angle  with the horizontal on an inclined plane of
inclination . In this case take x and y–axes along inclined plane and perpendicular to it.

We have, ux = u cos ( – ), ax = – g sin

and uy = u sin ( – ), ay = – g cos.
Time of flight (T):
The displacement along y–direction becomes zero to total time of flight T. Thus we have,
1
y  u yT  a y T 2
2
1
or 0 = u sin ( – ) – (g cos) T2
2
2u sin (  )
which gives, T = 0 and T =
g cos 
T = 0 corresponds to O. Therefore time of flight
2u (sin (  )
T … (i)
g cos 
Range along inclined plane (R)
Using second equation of motion along x–axis, we have
1
R  u xT  a xT2
2
2
 2u sin (  )  1  2u sin (  ) 
= u cos ( – )    – (g sin )  
 g cos   2  g cos  
After simplifying, we get
u2
R [sin (2  )  sin ]
g cos2 
For maximum range, sin (2 – ) = 1

or 2 –  = 90o or  = 45o +
2
u 2 (1  sin )
 Rmax =
g(1  sin 2 )
u2
 Rmax =
g(1  sin )
 Page No: 16

Projection down the inclined plane

Here we have, ux = u cos ( – ), ax = g sin

uy = u sin ( + ), ay = – g cos
Time of flight
As displacement becomes zero along y–direction in time T,
1
 0 = u yT  a yT 2
2
1
or 0 = u sin ( + )T – (g cos ) T2
2
2u sin (  )
where gives T = 0 or T
g cos 

Range along inclined plane (R)

1
R  u xT  a xT2
2
2
 2u sin (  )  1  2u sin(  ) 
= u cos (  )    g sin   
 g cos   2  g cos  
After simplifying, we get
u2
R= [sin (2  )  sin  ] … (ii)
g cos2 
For maximum range, sin (2 + ) = + 1

or (2 + ) = 90o or  = 45o –
2
u 2 (1  sin ) u 2 (1  sin )
 R max  
g cos2  g(1  sin 2 )
u2
or R max 
g(1  sin )
 Page No: 17

Uniform Circular Motion

If a particle moves along a circular path with a constant speed (i.e., it covers equal distances along the
circumference of the circle in equal intervals of time), then its motion is said to be a uniform circular motion.
Examples:
(i) Motion of the tip of the second hand of a clock.
(ii) Motion of a point on the rim of a wheel rotation uniformly.
 
At each position, the velocity vector v is perpendicular to the radius vector r .
Thus the velocity of the body changes continuously due to the continuous
change in the direction of motion of the body. As the rate of change of velocity
is acceleration, so a uniform circular motion is an accelerated motion.
(i) Angular displacement
The angular displacement of a particle moving along a circular path is defined
as the angle swept out by its radius vector in the given time interval.
As shown in figure, suppose a particles starts from the position P0. Its angular
position is 1 at time t1 and 2 at time t2. Let the particle cover a distance s in
the time interval t2 – t1 (= t). It revolves through angle 2 – 1
(= ) in this interval. The angle of revolution  is the angular displacement
of the particle. If r is the radius of the circle, then
s  Arc 
 =  Angle 
r  Radius 
The unit of angular displacement is radian. It is a dimensionless quantity.

(ii) Angular Velocity

The time rate of change of angular displacement of a particle is called its angular velocity. It is denoted by . It
is measured in radian per second (rad s–1) and its dimensional formula is [MoLoT–1]
As shown in above figure, if  is the angular displacement of a particle is time t, then its average angular
velocity is


t
When the time interval t  0, the limiting values of the average velocity is called the instantaneous angular
velocity, which is given by
 d
  lim 
t  0 t dt
(iii) Time Period
The time taken by a particle to complete one revolution along its circular path is called its period of revolution.
It is denoted by T and is measured in second.
(iv) Frequency
The frequency of an object in circular motion is defined as the number of revolutions completed per unit time. It
is denoted by v (nu).
It v is the frequency of revolution of a particle, then time taken to complete v revolutions = 1 second, time taken
1
to complete 1 revolution = second.

But time taken to complete 1 revolution is the time period T, so
1 1
T= or  
 T
 Page No: 18

Relations between angular velocity, frequency and time period

By definition of time period, a particle completes one revolution in time T i.e., it traverses an angle of 2 radian
in time T.
 When time t=T
angular displacement  = 2 radian
Angular displacement
Angular velocity =
Time
 2  1 
or    2  T   
t T  
Relation between linear velocity and angular velocity
Consider a particle moving along a circular path of radius r. As shown in figure, suppose A to B in the t
covering distance s along the arc AB. Hence the angular displacement of the particle is
s
 
r
Dividing both sides by t, we get
 1 s

t r t
Taking the limit  t  0 on both sides,
 1 s
lim  lim
t  0 t r t  0 t
 d
But lim   , is the instantaneous angular velocity and
t  0 t dt
s ds
lim   v,
t  0 t dt
is the instantaneous linear velocity.
1
 = .v
r
or v = r
Linear velocity = Angular velocity  radius
In vector notation, we have the relation
  
v   r
Angular acceleration
The time rate of change of angular velocity of a particle is called its angular acceleration. If  is the change in
angular velocity in time t, then the average angular acceleration is


t
The instantaneous acceleration is equal to the limiting value of the average acceleration / t when t
approaches zero. It is given by
 d
  lim 
t  0 t dt
The angular acceleration is measured in radian per second2 (rad s–2) and has the dimensions [MoLoT–2].
The ration between linear velocity v and angular velocity  is v = r
Differentiating both sides w.r.t. time t, we get
 Page No: 19

dv d
 (r)
dt dt
dv  d 
or r  [ r is constant]
dt  dt 
or a=r
Linear acceleration = Angular acceleration  radius
In vector rotation, we have the relation
  
a   r
Centripetal Acceleration
When a body is in uniform circular motion, its speed remains constant but its velocity changes continuously due
to the change in its direction. Hence the motion is accelerated. A body undergoing uniform circular motion is
acted upon by an accelerated which is directed along the radius towards the centre of the circular path. This
acceleration is called centripetal (centre seeking) acceleration.
Expression for centripetal acceleration
Consider a particle moving on a circular path of radius r and centre O, with a uniform speed v. As shown in
 
figure (a), suppose at time t the particle is at P and at time t + t, the particle is at Q. Let v1 and v 2 be the
velocity vectors at P and Q, directed along the tangents at P and Q respectively.
Applying triangle law of vector addition in BAC,
AB  BC  AC
 
 BC  AC  AB  v 2  v1
Thus the change in velocity in time t is given by

BC  v
If t is small, the chord PQ becomes equal to arc PQ. Then OPQ can be considered as a triangle.
POQ = BAC = . This is because the angle between the radii PO and QO is same as the angle between the
tangents at P and Q.
Also OP = OQ = r, radius of the circle.
 
| v1 |  | v 2 |  v i.e., AB  AC  v
And POQ = , BAC = 
Thus the two triangles POQ and BAC are similar. Hence
PQ BC

OP AB
s v v
or  or  v = s
r v r
Dividing both sides by t, we get
v v s

t r t
Taking the limit t  0 on both sides, we get
v v s
lim  lim
t  0 t r t  0 t
s ds
But lim   v, is the instantaneous velocity
t  0 t dt
 Page No: 20

v
 a  .v
r
v2
or a  2 r [ v = r]
r
This gives the magnitude of the acceleration of a particle in uniform circular motion.
Direction of Acceleration
As t tends to zero, the angle  also approaches zero. In this limit, as

AB = AC, so ABC =  ACB = 90o. Thus the change in velocity v and
  
hence the acceleration a is perpendicular to the velocity vector v1. But v1 is

directed along tangent at point P, so acceleration a acts along the radius
towards the centre of the circle. Such an acceleration is called centripetal
acceleration. Its magnitude remains constant (= v2/r) but its direction
continuously changes and remains perpendicular to the velocity vector at all
positions.
Circular Motion with Variable Speed
Consider a particle moving along a circular path of radius with a variable speed
v. As the speed of the particle changes, so acceleration has a tangential
dv
component, a T   r
dt
As the direction of motion changes continuously, so the acceleration has a
radial component.
v2
ar or ac =
r
The resultant acceleration of the particle will be
a  a T2  a 2r
Note
 In uniform circular motion, the direction of velocity vector which acts along the tangent to the path,
changes continuously but its magnitude always remains constant (v = r). So circular motion is an
accelerated motion.
 As v and r are constant, so that magnitude of the centripetal acceleration is a constant (= v2 /r). But the
direction of ac changes continuously, pointing always towards the centre. So centripetal acceleration is
not a constant vector.
 The a resultant acceleration of an object in circular motion is towards the centre only if the speed is
constant.
 For a body moving with a constant angular velocity, the angular acceleration is zero.
 In projectile motion, both the magnitude and direction of acceleration (g) remain constant, while in
uniform circular motion the magnitude remains constant but the direction continuously changes. Hence
the equations of motion v = u + at, etc., are not applicable to circular motion. These equations hold only
when both the magnitude and direction of acceleration are constant.
Subjective Assignment – VI
Q.1 Calculate the angular speed of (i) the hour hand of a watch and (ii) the earth about its own axis.
Q.2 Calculate the angular speed of flywheel making 420 revolutions per minute.
Q.3 A body of mass 10 kg revolves in a circle of diameter 0.40 m, making 1000 revolutions per minute.
Calculate its linear velocity and centripetal acceleration.
 Page No: 21

Q.4 Find the magnitude of the centripetal acceleration of a particle on the tip of a fan blade, 0.30 metre in
diameter, rotating at 1200 rev/minute.
Q.5 An insect trapped in a circular groove of radius 12 cm moves along the groove steadily and completes
7 revolutions in 100 s. (i) What is the angular speed and the linear speed of the motion? (ii) Is the
acceleration vector a constant vector? What is the magnitude? (iii) what is its linear displacement?
Q.6 The radius of the earth’s orbit around the sun is 1.5  1011 m. Calculate the angular and linear velocity
of the earth. Through how much angle does the earth revolve in 2 days?
Q.7 A particle moves in a circle of radius 4.0 cm clockwise at constant speed of 2 cms–1. If x̂ and ŷ are unit
acceleration vectors along X–axis and Y–axis respectively (in cms–2), find the acceleration of the
particle at the instant half way between P and Q (figure).

Q.8 What is the angular velocity of a second hand and minute hand of a clock?
Q.9 A threaded rod with 12 turns per cm and diameter 1.8 cm is mounted horizontally. A bar with a
threaded hole to match the rod is screwed onto the rod. The bar spins at the rate of 216 rpm. How long
will it take for the bar to move 1.50 cm along the rod?
Q.10 A circular wheel of 0.50 m radius is moving with a speed of 10 ms–1. Find the angular speed.
Q.11 Assuming that the moon completes one revolution in a circular orbit around the earth in 27.3 days,
calculate the acceleration of the moon towards the earth. The radius of the circular orbit can be taken as
3.85  105 km.
Q.12 The angular velocity of a particle moving along a circle of radius 50 cm is increased in 5 minutes from
100 revolutions per minute to 400 revolutions per minute. Find (i) angular acceleration and (ii) linear
acceleration.
Q.13 Calculate the linear acceleration of a particle moving in a circle of radius 0.4m at the instant when its
angular velocity is 2 rad s–1and its angular acceleration is 5 rad s–2.

Answers
 
1. rad s 1 , rad s 1 2. 44 rad s–1
21600 43200
20 1 2000 
3. ms , ms2 4. 4737.6 ms–2
3 9
5. (i) 0.44 rads–1, 5.28 cms–1, (ii) 2.32 cms–2 6. 1.99  10–7 rad s–1, 2.99 ms–1, 0.0344 rad
1
7.  ( x̂  ŷ) 8. 0.1047 rad s–1, 0.0017 rad s–1
2
9. 5s 10. 20 rad s–1 11. 2.73  10–3 ms–2
 5
12. (i) rad s 2 , (ii) cm s 2 13. 2.6 ms–2, 38o40' with aT
30 3
 Page No: 22

Conceptual Questions
Q.1 Can there be motion in two dimensions with an acceleration only in one dimension?
Q.2 A stone is thrown vertically upwards and then it returns to the thrower. Is it a projectile?
Q.3 Why does a projectile fired along the horizontal not follow a straight line path?
Q.4 What is the angle between the direction of velocity and acceleration at the highest point of a projectile
path?
Q.5 A bullet is dropped from a certain height and at the same time, another bullet is fired horizontally from
the same height. Which one will hit the ground earlier and why?
Q.6 A stone dropped from the window of a stationary bus takes 5 seconds to reach the ground. In what time
the stone will reach the ground when the bus is moving with (a) constant velocity of 80 kmh –1 is
(b) constant acceleration of 2 kmh–1.
Q.7 A bomb thrown as projectile explodes in mid–air. What is the path traced by the centre of mass of the
fragments assuming the friction to be negligible?
Q.8 A projectile is fired at an angle of 15o to the horizontal with the speed v. If another projectile is
projected with the same speed, then at what angle with the horizontal it must be projected so as to have
the same range?
Q.9 Is the maximum height attained by projectile is largest when its horizontal range is maximum?
Q.10 What will be the effect on maximum height of a projectile when its angle of projection is changed from
30o to 60o, keeping the same initial velocity of projection?
Q.11 What is the angle between velocity vector and acceleration vector in uniform circular motion?
Q.12 For uniform circular motion, does the direction of centripetal acceleration depend upon the sense of
rotation?
Q.13 A stone tied to the end of a string is whirled in a circle. If the string breaks, the stone flies away
tangentially. Why?
Q.14 A person sitting in a moving train throws a ball vertically upwards. How will the ball appear to move to
an observer (i) sitting inside the train (ii) standing outside the train? Give reason?
Q.15 A bob hung from the celling of a room by a string is performing simple harmonic oscillations. What
will be the trajectory of the bob, if the string is cut, when bob is (i) at one of its extreme positions,
(ii) at its mean position?
Q.16 Two bombs of 5 kg and 10 kg are thrown from a cannon with the same velocity in the same direction.
(i) Which bomb will reach the ground first? If the bombs are thrown in the same direction with
different velocity, what would be the effect?
Q.17 A skilled gunman always keeps his gun slightly tilted above the line of sight while shooting, why?
Q.18 A railway carriage moves over a straight track with acceleration a. A passenger in the carriage drops a
stone. What is the acceleration of the stone w.r.t. the carriage and the earth?,

NCERT Questions
Q.1 A passenger arriving in a new town wishes to go from the station to a hotel located 10 km away on a
straight road from the station. A dishonest cabman takes him along a circuitous path 23 km long and
reaches the hotel in 28 minutes. What is (i) the average speed of the taxi and (ii) the magnitude of
average velocity? Are the two equal?
Q.2 Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 30 ms–1. A woman rides a bicycle with a speed of 10 ms–1 in
the north to south direction. What is the relative velocity of rain with respect to the women? What is
the direction in which she should hold her umbrella to protect herself from the rain?
Q.3 A man can swim with a speed of 4 kmh–1 in still water. How long does he take to cross the river 1 km
wide, if the river flows steadily at 3 kmh–1 and he makes his strokes normal to the river current? How
far from the river does he go, when he reaches the other bank?
 Page No: 23

Q.4 In a harbour, wind is blowing at the speed of 72 kmh–1 and the flag on the mast of a boat anchored in
the harbour flutters along the N – E direction. If the boat starts moving at a speed of 51 kmh–1 to the
north, what is the direction of the flag on the mast of the boat?
Q.5 The ceiling of a long hall is 25 m high. What is the maximum horizontal distance that a ball thrown
with a speed of 40 ms–1 can go without hitting the ceiling of the hall?
Q.6 A cricketer can throw a ball to a maximum horizontal distance of 100 m. How high above the ground
can the cricketer throw the same ball?
Q.7 A stone tied to the end of a string 80 cm long is whirled in a horizontal circle with a constant speed. If
the stone makes 14 revolutions in 25 seconds, what is the magnitude and direction of acceleration of
the stone?
Q.8 An aircraft executes a horizontal loop of radius 1 km with a steady of 900 km h–1. Compare its
centripetal acceleration with the acceleration due to gravity.
Q.9 Read each statement below carefully and state, with reasons, if it is true or false.
(a) The net acceleration of a particle in circular motion is always along the radius of the circle
towards the centre.
(b) The velocity vector of a particle at a point is always along the tangent to the path of the particle
at that point.
(c) The acceleration vector of a particle in uniform circular motion averaged over one cycle is a
null vector.

Q.10 The position of a particle is given by r  3.0t î  2.0t 2 ĵ  4.0 k̂ m where t is in seconds and the

coefficients have the proper units for r to be in metres.
 
(a) Find the v and a of the particle. (b) What is the magnitude and direction of velocities of the particle
at t = 2s?
Q.11 A particle starts from the origin at t = 0s with a velocity of 10.0 ˆj m/s and moves in the x–y plane with
a constant acceleration of (8.0î  2.0 ĵ) ms–2. (a) At what time is the x–coordinate of the particle 16 m?
What is the y–coordinate of the particle at that time? (b) What is the speed of the particle at that time?
Q.12 An aircraft is flying at a height of 3400 m above the ground. If the angle subtended at a ground
observation point by the aircraft positions 10s apart is 30o, what is the speed of the aircraft?
Q.13 A fighter plane flying horizontally at an altitude of 1.5 km with a speed 720 kmh –1 passes directly
overhead an antiaircraft gun. At what angle from the vertical should the gun be fired for the shell
muzzle speed 600 ms–1 to hit the plane? At what maximum altitude should the pilot fly the plane to
avoid being hit? Take g = 10 ms–2.
Q.14 A cyclist is riding with a speed of 27 km h–1. As he approaches a circular turn on the road of radius 80
m, he applies brakes and reduces his speed at the constant rate 0.5 ms –2. What is the magnitude and
direction of the net acceleration of the cyclist on the circular turn?
Q.15 (a) Show that for a projectile angle between the velocity and the X–axis as a function of time is
given by
( v oy  gt )
(t) = tan–1
v ox
(b) Show that the projection angle 0 for a projectile launched from the origin is given by:
 4h 
 0  tan1  m 
 R 
where the symbols have their usual meaning.
 Page No: 24

Answers
–1 –1
1. 49.3 kmh , 21.43 kmh 2. 31.6 ms–1, 18o26'
3. 15 min, 0.75 km 4. 0.01o due east 5. 150.7 m
6. 50 m 7. 991.2 cm s–2
8. 6.38 9. (i) False, (ii) True, (iii) True
–1
10. 3.0î  4.0t ĵ ,  4.0 ĵ , 8.54 ms , 70 with x–axis
o
11. (a)2 s, 24 m, (b) 21.26 ms–1

12. 182.2 ms–1 13. 19o30', 16 km 14. 0.86 ms–2, 54o28'

Objective Assignment – I
Q.1 Given the speed of a boat in still water is u and the velocity of a river is v, the time taken by the boat to
reach a place downstream at a distance d and back to the original place is
2 vd 2 ud vd ud
(a) (b) (c) (d)
v u
2 2
u v
2 2
v u2
2
u  v2
2

Q.2 Which of the following is true regarding projectile motion?

(a) horizontal velocity of projectile is constant (b) vertical velocity of projectile is constant
(c) acceleration is not constant (d) momentum is constant
Q.3 An aeroplane flying horizontally with a speed of 360 kmh–1 releases a bomb at a height of 490 m from
the ground. If g = 9.8 ms–2, it will strike the ground at
(a) 10 km (b) 100 km (c) 1 km (d) 16 km
Q.4 A bomber plane moves horizontally with a speed of 500 m/s and a bomb released from it, strikes the
ground in 10 sec. Angle at which it strikes the ground (g = 10 m/s2) will be
(a) tan–1 (1/5) (b) tan (1/5) (c) tan–1 (1) (d) tan–1 (5)
Q.5 If range and height of a projectile are equal, then angle of projection with the horizontal is
(a) 60o (b) tan–1 (4) (c) 30o (d) 45o
Q.6 The horizontal range of projectile is 4 3 times of its maximum height. The angle of projection will be
(a) 40o (b) 90o (c) 30o (d) 45o
Q.7 Two bodies are projected with the same velocity. If one is projected at an angle of 30 o and the other at
60o to the horizontal, then ratio of maximum heights reached is
(a) 3 : 1 (b) 1 : 2 (c) 1 : 3 (d) 2 : 1
o o
Q.8 Two bodies are thrown up at angles of 45 and 60 , respectively, with the horizontal. If both bodies
attain same vertical height, then the ratio of velocities with which these are thrown is
(a) 2/3 (b) 2 / 3 (c) 3/ 2 (d) 3/2
Q.9 A bullet is fired from a gun with a speed of 1000 m/s in order to hit a target 100 m away. At what height
above the target should be gun be aimed? (The resistance of air is negligible and g = 10 m/s2)
(a) 5 cm (b) 15 cm (c) 9 cm (d) 23 cm
Q.10 A cricketer hits a ball with a velocity 25 m/s at 60o above the horizontal. How far above the ground it
passes over a fielder 50 m from the bat (assume the ball is struck very close to the ground)
(a) 8.2 m (b) 9.0 (c) 11.6 m (d) 12.7 m
–1
Q.11 A ball is projected upwards from the top of tower with a velocity 50 ms making an angle 30o with the
horizontal. The height of tower is 70 m. After how many seconds from the instant of throwing will the
ball reach the ground?
 Page No: 25

(a) 2 s (b) 5 s (c) 7 s (d) 9 s

Q.12 A boat crosses a river from port A to port B, which are just on the opposite side. The speed of the water
is vW and that of boat is vB relative to water. Assume vB = 2vW. What is the time taken by the boat, if it
has to cross the river directly on the AB line?
2D 3D D D 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
vB 3 2 vB vB 2 vB
Q.13 A coastguard ship locates a pirate ship at a distance 560 m. It fires a cannon ball with an initial speed 82
m/s. At what angle from horizontal the ball must be fired so that it hits the pirate ship?
(a) 54o (b) 125o (c) 27o (d) 18o
Answers
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d
6. c 7. c 8. c 9. a 10. a
11. c 12. a 13. c
Objective Assignment – II
Q.1 A boat is sent across a river with a velocity of 8 km h–1. If the resultant velocity of boat is 10 km h–1, then
velocity of river is
(a) 12.8 km h–1 (b) 6 km h–1 (c) 8 km h–1 (d) 10 km h–1
Q.2 The width of river is 1 km. The velocity of boat is 5 km/h. The boat covered the width of river in shortest
time 15 min. Then the velocity of river stream is
(a) 3 km/hr (b) 4 km/hr (c) 29 km/hr (d) 41 km/hr
Q.3 A person aiming to reach to reach exactly opposite point on the bank of a stream is swimming with a speed
of 0.5 m/s at angle of 120o with the direction of flow of water. The sped of water in the stream are
(a 0.25 m/s (b) 0.5 m/s (c) 1.0 m/s (d) 0.433
Q.4 A particle starting from the origin (0, 0) moves in a straight line in the (x, y) plane. Its coordinates at a later
time are ( 3 , 3) . The path of the particle makes with the x–axis an angle of
(a) 45o (b) 60o (c) 0o (d) 30o
Q.5 Two boys are standing at the ends A and B of a ground where AB = a. The boy at B starts running in a
direction perpendicular to AB with velocity v1. The boy at A starts running simultaneously with velocity v
and catches the other in a time t, where t is

a a a a2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
v 2  v12 v  v1 v  v1 v 2  v12

Q.6 Two particles A and B are connected by a rigid rod AB. The rod slides along perpendicular rails as shown
here. The velocity of A to the left is 10 m/s. What is the velocity of B when  = 60o?
(a) 10 m/s (b) 9.8 m/s
(c) 5.8 m/s (d) 17.3 m/s

Q.7 The position vector of a particle is r  (a cos ωt )î  (a sin ωt ) ĵ , the velocity of the particle is
(a) directed towards the origin (b) directed away from the origin
(c) parallel to the position vector (d) perpendicular to the position vector
Q.8 Two projectiles of same mass and with same velocity are thrown at an angle 60o and 30o with the horizontal,
then which will remain same
(a) time of flight (b) range of projectile (c) maximum height acquired (d) all of them
 Page No: 26

Q.9 If a body A of mass M is thrown with velocity v at an angle 30o to the horizontal and another body B of the
same mass is thrown with the same speed at an angle of 60o to the horizontal, the ratio of horizontal range of
A to B will be
(a) 1 : 3 (b) 1 : 1 (c) 1: 3 (d) 3 :1
Q.10 For angles of projection of a projectile at angle (45o – ) and (45o + ), the horizontal range described by the
projectile are in the ratio of
(a) 2 : 1 (b) 1 :1 (c) 2 : 3 (d) 1 : 2
–2
Q.11 The maximum range of a gun of horizontal tarrain is 16 km. If g = 10 ms , then muzzle velocity of a shell
must be
(a) 160 ms–1 (b) 200 2 ms2 (c) 400 ms–1 (d) 800 ms–1
Q.12 A cricket ball is hit at 45o to the horizontal with a kinetic energy E. The kinetic energy at highest point is
(a) 0 (b) E/2 (c) E / 2 (d) E
Q.13 A particle A is dropped from a height and another particle B is projected in horizontal direction with sped of
5 m/sec from the same height, then correct statement is
(a) particle A will reach at ground first with respect to particle B
(b) particle B will reach at ground first with respect to particle A
(c) both particles will reach at ground simultaneously
(d) both particles will reach at ground with same speed
Q.14 A man throws balls with the same speed vertically upwards one after the other at an interval of 2 seconds.
What should be the speed of the throw so that more than two balls are in the sky at any time?
Given g = 9.8 m/s2)
(a) more than 19.6 m/s (b) atleast 9.8 m/s
(c) any speed less than 149.6 m/s (d) only with speed 19.6 m/s
Q.15 A man is slipping on a frictionless inclined plane and a bag falls down from the same height. Then the
velocity of both is related as
(a) vB > vm (b) vB < vm (c) vB = vm (d) vB and vm can’t be
related
Answers
1. b 2. a 3. a 4. b 5. d
6. d 7. d 8. b 9. b 10. b
11. c 12. b 13. c 14. a 15. c
Objective Assignment – III
Q.1 Two projectiles are projected with the same velocity. If one is projected at an angle of 30 o and the other
at 60o to the horizontal, then the ratio of maximum heights reached is
(a) 3: 1 (b) 1 : 3 (c) 1 : 2 (d) 2 : 1
Q.2 An aeroplane moving horizontally with a speed of 720 km/h drops a food packet while flying at a height
of 396.9m. The time taken by the food packet to reach the ground and its horizontal range are
(Take g = 9.8 m/s2)
Q.3 A particle is projected making an angle an angle of 45o with the horizontal having kinetic energy K. The
kinetic energy at the highest point will be
K
(a) (b) K/2 (c) 2K (d) K
2
 Page No: 27

Q.4 An object is projected vertically upward with a velocity 4gR / 3 from earth. The velocity of the object
at the maximum height reached by it will be
2gR gR
(a) (b) (c) 2gR (d) zero
3 3
Q.5 A body is projected at such an angle that the horizontal range is three times the greatest height attained.
The angle of projection is
(a) 25o 8' (b) 33o 7' (c) 42o 8' (d) 53.1o
Q.6 Two particles of same mass and with same velocity are thrown at an angle of 60o and 30o with the
horizontal. Which will remain the same?
(a) Time of flight (b) Range of projectile (c) Max. height acquired (d) All of them
Q.7 A bomber plane is moving horizontally with a speed of 500 m/s and bomb released from it strikes the
ground in 10 sec. The angle at which it strikes the ground is (Take g = 10 m/s2)
(a) tan–1 5 (b) tan–1 1 (c) tan–1 1/5 (d) sin–1 1/5
Q.8 Two particles are projected with the same initial velocity, one making angle  with the horizontal and
other making angle  with the vertical. If their common range is R, then product of their times of flight
is directly proportional to
(a) R (b) R2 (c) 1/R (d) R3
Q.9 A bomb is dropped from an aeroplane moving horizontally at a constant speed. When air resistance is
taken into consideration, then the bomb
(a) flies with the aeroplane (b) falls on earth ahead of aeroplane
(c) falls on earth behind aeroplane (d) falls on earth exactly below aeroplane
Q.10 The maximum horizontal range of a projectile is 400 m. The maximum height attained by it will be:
(a) 100 m (b) 200 m (c) 400 m (d) 800 m
Q.11 For a given angle of projection, if the time of flight of a projectile is doubled, the horizontal range will
increase to:
(a) four times (b) thrice (c) once (d) twice
Q.12 If retardation produced by air resistance of projectile is one–tenth of acceleration due to gravity, the
time to reach maximum height:
(a) decreases to 11 percent (b) increases to 11 percent
(c) decreases to 90 percent (d) increases to 90 percent
Q.13 Two stones are projected with same velocity v at an angle  and (90 – ). If H and H1 are the greatest
heights in the two paths, what is the relation between R, H and H1?
(a) R  4 H H1 (b) R = HH1 (c) R = 4HH1 (d) None of the above
–1 o
Q.14 A body is thrown with a velocity of 9.8ms making an angle of 30 with the horizontal. It will hit
ground after a time.
(a) 3 s (b) 2s (c) 1.5 s (d) 1 s
Q.15 A person aims a gun at a bird from a point at a horizontal distance of 100 m. If the gun can impart a
speed of 500 ms–1 to bullet, at what height above bird must he aim his gun is order to hit it? (Take g =
10 m/s2)
(a) 10 cm (b) 20 cm (c) 50 cm (d) 100 cm
 Page No: 28

Q.16 For angle of projection of a projectile at angles (45o + ) and (45o – ), the horizontal ranges described
by the projectile are in the ratio of (if  > 45o)
(a) 2 : 1 (b) 1 : 2 (c) 1 : 1 (d) 2 : 3
Q.17 An aeroplane moving horizontally with a speed of 180 km/hr drops a food packet while flying at a
height of 490 m. The horizontal range is
(a) 500 m (b) 980 m (c) 670 m (d) 180 m
Q.18 The horizontal range is four times the maximum height attained by a projectile. The angle of projection
is
(a) 90o (b) 60o (c) 45o (d) 30o
Q.19 At the top of the trajectory of a projectile, the acceleration is
(a) maximum (b) minimum (c) zero (d) g
o
Q.20 The range of projectile is R when the angle of projection is 30 . Then the value of the other angle of
projection for the same range is
(a) 45o (b) 60o (c) 50o (d) 40o
Q.21 A stone thrown at an angle  to the horizontal, reaches a maximum height. The time of flight of the
stone is
2h sin θ 2 2h sin θ 2h 2h
(a) (b) (c) 2 (d)
g g g g
Q.22 A ball is projected horizontally with a velocity of 4 m/s. The velocity of ball after 0.7s (g = 10 m–2) is
(a) 11 ms–1 (b) 10 ms–1 (c) 8 ms–1 (d) 3 ms–1
Q.23 A stone released with zero velocity from the top of the tower reaches the ground in 4 seconds. The
height of the tower is about
(a) 20 m (b) 40 m (c) 80 m (d) 160 m
Q.24 A ball is thrown from a point with a speed v0 at an angle of projection . From the same point and at the
same instant, a person starts running with a constant speed v02 to catch the ball. Will the person be able
to catch the ball? If yes, what should be the angle of projection?
(a) Yes, 60o (b) Yes, 30o (c) No (d) Yes, 45o
Q.25 A boy playing on the roof of a 10m high building throws a ball with a speed of 10 m/s at an angle of 30o
with the horizontal. How far from the throwing point will the ball be at the height of 10m from the
ground? [g = 10 m/s2, sin 30o = 1/2, cos 30o = 3 / 2]
(a) 5.20 m (b) 4.33 m (c) 2.60 m (d) 8.66 m
Answer
1. b 2. d 3. b 4. d

5. d 6. b 7. c 8. a

9. c 10. a 11. a 12. c

13. a 14. d 15. b 16. c

17. a 18. c 19. d 20. b

21. c 22. c 23. c 24. a

25. d