HL Projectile Motion Projectile motion is a form of motion in which an object or particle (called a projectile) is thrown obliquely near the

earth's surface, and it moves along a curved path under the action of gravity only. (Wikipedia; Projectile Motion) 9.1.1: State the independence of the vertical and horizontal components of velocity for a projectile in a uniform field The horizontal and vertical components of velocity are independent of each other in a uniform field. This means that the path followed by the object does not affect the time it takes to reach the destination in projectile motion, provided there are resistive forces. For the horizontal component of velocity, there is no acceleration, hence the velocity is constant.

For the vertical component of velocity, the object accelerates due to gravity.

The displacement is given by:

This can be rearranged for time, which is the same for both horizontal and vertical displacement: The launch point is assumed to be the origin, where displacement is equal to zero. To solve projectile motion problems, utilize both components of velocity. For objects launched at arbitrary angles, we consider each component of motion separately. The horizontal component of velocity will be constant, and found by:

 HL Since there is no acceleration, displacement is equal to speed times time.

Since there is acceleration in the horizontal vector, the velocity at any given time is given by:

As per suvat, the displacement is found by:

When the projectile reaches its maximum height, the vertical velocity becomes zero.

By plugging this into the suvat equation for displacement, we find:

The maximum range is reached when the vertical displacement is zero.

9.1.2: Describe and sketch the trajectory of the projectile motion as parabolic in the absence of air resistance. 9.1.3: Describe qualitatively the effect of air resistance on the trajectory of a projectile. The path followed by a projectile is a parabola, however, this is not the case if air resistance is present, and the maximum height and range will be reduced. Also, the projectile will reach its destination at a steeper angle.

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9.1.4: Solve problems on projectile motion Horizontally launched object problems: Finding the initial velocity of a horizontally launched object given the vertical displacement and the final velocity angle. Calculate the time using

Calculate velocity using

Using trigonometry, we can rearrange this formula to fin the initial acceleration: | | This can also be used to find the angle of launch, given the final and initial velocity. This also applies for objects launched at an angle. Alternatively, for horizontal motion, if no angles are given, distance divided by time can be used. This applies for all situations where there is no acceleration. If only one component of velocity is given, the other component can be found using the formulas above, then trigonometry and Pythagoras can be used to find the velocity. This also applies for objects launched at an angle. The acceleration due to gravity can be found by rearranging the velocity formula at the maximum height.