MATH & NATURAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

PHY 111 - LAB I

Experiment # 6

Projectile Motion

Date:_____________________ Sec:_______________ Group:___________

Name ID
1
2
3
4

Breakdown of Marks for the lab

Objective of Evaluation Max. marks Marks obtained

Expt./Data Collection 15
Analysis/Graphs/Calculations 20

Conclusion 7

Laboratory assignment(Questions) 8

Total 50
Objectives:

The main objective of this lab is to study and analyze the motion of a projectile. Students will be able to
apply the concepts and the equations of motion to:
 understand the conceptual nature of the motion of a horizontal projectile and an angle launched
projectile
 calculate the initial velocity of a projectile
 verify and calculate the range of a projectile
 verify the equation of a projectile as a quadratic function experimentally and graphically

Introduction:

For this experiment, you will use projectile launcher and online simulations to examine two-
dimensional projectile motion of an object thrown in the air. You will investigate the relationship
between acceleration, velocity and position of the horizontal and vertical components.

Theory:

A projectile is an object that is projected or launched into the air and then moves through the
air under the sole influence of gravity. In this sense, a projectile is a free-falling object that
experiences a downward acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.

Theoretically, it is known that the motion in various directions is separable, i.e. one can analyze the
vertical component separately from the horizontal component of the motion. If we throw an object on the
surface of the Earth, then the downward acceleration should equal acceleration of gravity since it is in
free fall. We should have no acceleration in the horizontal since gravity acts in the downward direction
and thus:

a y =−g=−9. 8 m/s 2 and a x=0 m/s 2 (1 )

Since acceleration is the slope of the velocity vs. time graph, the velocity versus time of the vertical and
horizontal motions have different slopes. For horizontal velocity, the
slope of the velocity vs. time graph should be 0 m/s2 so we expect a horizontal line. Foe the vertical
velocity, the graph is a line with a slope of -9.8 m/s2.
Now we can write equations for the two different components of projectile motion. We
know that the vertical velocity equation must have the slope of ay = -g, therefore
v y =v oy −gt=v o sin θ -gt (2)
v 2y = 2
( v o sin θ ) −2 g ( y− y o )
Since the horizontal acceleration is zero, then

v x =v ox =v o cos θ=const (3 )

For the position vs. time graph of vertical motion, we get the familiar equation:

1 1
y= y o + v oy t− g t 2= y o + v o sin θ t − g t 2 (4)
2 2

Since the horizontal velocity is constant, the equation for the position vs. time must be
linear since acceleration is zero and thus the squared term drops out. The slope of this
graph is the horizontal velocity. We can then write the equation as

x=x o +v ox t=x o +v o cosθ t (5)

Free Fall: The distance (d) a ball falls from rest as a function of the time of fall (t) is given by the next
2
equation where 'g' is the acceleration in free fall d= ( 1/2 ) gt .Thus, the time for a ball to fall straight
down a distance (d) from rest to the ground is given by:

t=√ 2 d /g
Range R = Maximum horizontal displacement at the same initial height

( v o cos θ )×2 v o sin θ v 2o sin 2θ

x=v x o t=( v o cos θ ) t = =
g g
v 2o sin 2 θ v 20
If x is maximum x →R= , sin 2 θ=1 i . e when 2θ=90→θ=45 → R=
g g

Maximum height Ymax

v 2y =( v o sin θ ) 2−2 gy=0

( v o sinθ )2 v 2o sin2 θ 2
1 vo 1
2
1 vo
( )
2
2 ∘
( v o sin θ ) =2 gy → y=
2g
=
2g
, If θ =45 → y max =
2 g √2
=
4 g
2
1 vo 1
If θ =45∘ → y max = = R
4 g 4
v o sin θ 2v o sin θ
v y =( v o sin θ ) −gt=0→t 1 /2 = , t=
g g
 Materials:

Part I:
- Mini Launcher with angles.
- 26mm ball
- Meter stick/measuring tape
- Marker & Carbon papers if available

Part II:

Simulation: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Vectors-
and Projectiles/Projectile-Simulator

Procedure:

A. Part I:

1. Set up the launcher on the table and tight it with a clamp

2. Set up the angle = 30o as indicted in the table below
3. Feed the ball to the launcher and press on it to the 2nd click
4. Release the ball and mark the place it landed
5. Measure the time of the flight
6. Measure the distance from the launcher to the landmark
7. Change the ball to the 3rd click
8. Repeat steps 4-6 again
9. Record all your data in the table below
Table 1(10-Marks)
Click X t X t X t
θ
#

Calculations
1. Calculate vo from the Range equation above for any one clicks. (4-Marks)

2. Calculate vo from equation 5 above for any one clicks. (4-Marks)

 3. Compare your results from both equations (1 and 2) and discuss your results? (3-Marks)

B. Launched Projectile:

Navigate to the Projectile Simulator in the Physics Interactives section of The Physics
Classroom website: https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Vectors-
and-Projectiles/Projectile-Simulator

B. Graphing the motion

1. Reset the simulation and set the speed to be 50 m/s, angle to be 45o, and height = 0
2. Start the simulation and record the height (y-displacement) at each second and record in table 2
below
Table 2(5-Marks) Paste your graph here
t (s) y (m)
1.0

3. Graph (y vs. t). Use the polynomial button to find the best fit for the graph. What does the graph look
like? Write the equation of the curve (4-Marks)
4. Compare the equation from the graph to equation 4 above in the Theory section. Calculate g from the
equation. (4-Marks)

5. Can you find v0y from the equation of the graph? Does it match the real value? Find % e if any
(2-Marks)

Conclusion: (4-Marks)
Write 5-6 statements (bullets) illustrating what you learned about projectile motion from the simulation
 Part II:

A. Launched Projectile:

Navigate to the Projectile Simulator in the Physics Interactives section of The Physics Classroom website:
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Vectors-and-Projectiles/Projectile-
Simulator

Once the Interactive opens, resize it to whatever size you ish.

Then set the Speed to 25 m/s. Set the Angle to 45o
degrees. Set the Height to 100 m. Select Show Velocity
Vectors in order to enable this feature.

Directions and Questions:

Click the Start button and observe the simulation. The red
arrows are velocity vectors. They are indicators of how
fast the object is moving horizontally and vertically. The
length of the arrow indicates how fast the object is
moving in that direction.

Answer the questions based on your observations. Give

clear, complete and precise answers

1. Describe the change in velocity vectors vx and vy for the whole motion.

2. Increase the initial velocity and Start the simulation again. Describe the change in the velocity
vectors vx and vy for the whole motion

3. Compare your answers for questions 1 & 2? What do you conclude?

4. Does the projectile (Ball) experience any acceleration? How did you know? In which direction?

B. Horizontal Launch.
1. Click Reset. Change the height at 120 m and the angle to 0o Now run the simulation several
trials and fill in table 1 below
Table 1
Trial Initial velocity (m/s) Time (s) x-Displacement (m)
1 (m/s)
10
2 20
3 30
4 40
5 50
6 60

2. Describe the effect that increasing initial velocity has on the time of fall.

3. Describe the effect that increasing initial velocity has upon the horizontal or x-displacement.

4. Graph x vs. v using excel. Find the slope. What does it represent? Compare to the value of t in
Table 1
C. Angle launched projectile

Reset the simulation and set the Speed to 50 m/s, the Angle to
50o and set the Height to 0 m. Enable Show Velocity
Vectors and Trace Path; they should be highlighted in
yellow.

Click the Start button and observe the simulation.

1. At maximum height, what is the vertical velocity vy, what is

horizontal velocity vx?

2. At maximum height, what is the value of the acceleration? In what direction?

3. As the simulation runs, the time is displayed at the top of the Interactive. If the Pause button is
pressed, arrows appear next to the time to step the simulation forward or backward. Use these controls
to measure the time it takes to rise to the peak, the total time in the air, and the time it takes to fall from
the peak. Record to 2 decimal place.

tup = s ttotal = s tdown =_________ s

4. Repeat step 4 for 2 different angles.

Θ1 =

tup =____________s ttotal = ___s tdown = _______s

Θ2 =

tup =____________s ttotal = ___ s tdown = _____ __s

5. What do you conclude about the time up and the time down?
D. Launched Projectile

1. Choose a speed between 40-60 m/s and keep it constant. Keep the height at 0

2. Vary the launch angle, use the simulation to move back and forth for your height and record your answer
in table2 below
Table 2
Vo =
Angle (°) x-displacement (m) y-Max height (m) ttotal (s)
25
30
40
45
50
55
65
70

3. What is the maximum range (x-displacements?) At what angle?

4. What is the height at the maximum range?

5. Using the equations in the theoretical section, calculate the maximum range (R) and the height at
the maximum range. Do they match your results from the table? Calculate %e if any
 Conclusion:
Write 5-6 statements (bullets) illustrating what you learned about projectile motion from the simulation

Lab Assignment

1. Using the settings for this projectile, will the

cannon ball hit the target set (15 m)? Proof it
mathematically

2. What is the maximum height that the cannon ball will reach? After what time?

3. I f the speed is changed to 20 m/s, what is the maximum displacement? What is the total time?