Att 31701 20191030 142544 SRC

GRADE 12 PHYSICAL SCIENCES
MINDSET LEARN XTRA

RADIO BROADCAST NOTES
27-AUG 18:00 -19:00 VERTICAL PROJECTILE MOTION

STUDY NOTES
VERTICAL PROJECTILE MOTION
1. What is Projectile Motion?
A projectile is an object that is given an initial velocity by shooting or throwing etc.,
and once launched, the only force acting on it is the force due to gravity. In the
absence of air resistance, the object is free falling with a constant (uniform)
acceleration of 9,8 m.s-2 called gravitational acceleration (g). The direction of this
acceleration is always downwards.
2. Important Facts Concerning Vertical Projectile Motion:

At the greatest height of the upward motion:
vf = 0 m·s-1
a = g = 10 m·s-2 downwards
The object will take the same time to reach its greatest height from point of
upwards launch as the time taken to fall back to point of launch
If the object is being released from rest or being dropped, its initial velocity is 0
m·s-1.
If the object is being thrown upwards, it must start with a maximum velocity
and as it moves up, the velocity decreases until it stops.
When an object is thrown upwards, you can treat the motion as two parts
(upwards and downwards) or as a single motion, but the acceleration must be
constant throughout the time. The sign of the direction of motion must stay the
same as well.
3. The Effect of Air Resistance

In most exam questions you will be told to ignore the effects of air resistance.
Air resistance is a frictional force that opposes motion.
When an object is moving up, air resistance will act downwards.
When an object is moving downwards, air resistance will act upwards.
Terminal velocity is reached when the downward force of gravity and the
upward force of air resistance are equal.
At terminal velocity there is no net force acting in on the object and so the
acceleration is zero and the object falls at a constant velocity.
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4. Solving Vertical Projectile Motion Problems

To solve vertical projectile motion problem we use equations of motion and graphs of
motion
Equations of Motion:
These are found on the information sheet and are used to describe and calculate
the motion of an object that is moving in one direction with a constant
acceleration.
Method for Using Equations of Motion:

STEP 1: Draw a diagram of the situation in the question and enter all the numerical
values onto your diagram.
STEP 2: Select a direction as positive and do not change the sign of the direction
STEP 3: Identify which equation to use, i.e. identify the known and unknown
quantities
STEP 4: Substitute into the equation and solve
STEP 5: Interpret the answer - for vector quantities, give the direction in words
Graphs of Motion
We use three different graphs.
A. position – time graph.
B. velocity – time graph
C. acceleration – time graph
Interpreting Graphs of Motion

Check the labels and units on the horizontal and vertical axes
When the graph is above the horizontal axis, the position, velocity or
acceleration is positive. Identify the direction of motion from the graph.
The gradient of a position-time graph tells you about the velocity of the object
and the gradient of a velocity-time graph tells you about the acceleration of the
object.
The area between the graph and the time axis on a velocity-time graph gives
the change in position, and on an acceleration-time graph this area is the
velocity.
Use a ruler to read off values - start on the time axis and graph a vertical line
till it touches the graph; then graph a horizontal line and read off the value on
the vertical axis.
Make sure you know what all three graphs of motion look like for the following
situations:
an object dropped from a height above the ground
an object that is thrown up from the ground and falls back down again
a ball that is dropped from a height and bounces up off the ground

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Sketching Graphs of Motion

Select the position of the observer (usually represented as the origin)
Make sure you label the axes with units
Select a good scale for an accurate graph
Learn the basic shape of each of the graphs for the following situations:
stationary object
constant velocity moving towards and away
constant acceleration moving towards and away
Make sure you know when the velocity is zero
Make sure you know when the velocity is increasing or decreasing
Plot your points accurately
After drawing the sketch check that the sketch describes the situation given
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Nov 2011 P1 Question 2.3 and 3
Diagram for Question 2.3 (Nov 2011 P1)
Diagram for Question 3 (Nov 2011 P1)

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GRADE 12 PHYSICAL SCIENCES

MINDSET LEARN XTRA

27-AUG 18:00 -19:00 VERTICAL PROJECTILE MOTION

2. Important Facts Concerning Vertical Projectile Motion:

3. The Effect of Air Resistance

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4. Solving Vertical Projectile Motion Problems

Method for Using Equations of Motion:

Interpreting Graphs of Motion

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Sketching Graphs of Motion

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Diagram for Question 2.3 (Nov 2011 P1)

Diagram for Question 3 (Nov 2011 P1)

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