
Therefore the horizontal distance travelled is 55. Therefore the time of flight is 2.55s (3sf)ī) The range can be found working out the horizontal distance travelled by the particle after time T found in part (a) A projectile, that is launched into the air near the. Recall Newtons second law of motion: if at any time t. Projectile motion is the motion experienced by an object in the air only under the influence of gravity. Ī) How long will it be before the impact?ī) How far will the cannon ball travel before hitting the ground?Ī) When the particle hits the ground, y = 0.Īpplying this equation vertically, when the particle hits the ground:Ġ = 25Tsin30 - ½ gT 2 (Where T is the time of flight) We (you) will derive parametric equations that describe the trajectory of this projectile.

To find the speed or direction of the particle at any time during the motion, find the horizontal and vertical components of the velocity using the above formulae and use Pythagoras's theorem:Ī cannon ball is fired at an angle of 30° to the horizontal at a speed of 25ms -1. The velocity of the particle at any time can be calculated from the equation v = u + at.īy applying this equation horizontally, we find that: This is because the maximum sin2a can be is 1 and sin2a = 1 when a = 45°. If a particle is projected at fixed speed, it will travel the furthest horizontal distance if it is projected at an angle of 45° to the horizontal. The time the ball is in the air is given by (3). When the particle returns to the ground, y = 0. Remember, there is no acceleration horizontally so a = 0 here. Using this equation vertically, we have that a = -g (the acceleration due to gravity) and the initial velocity in the vertical direction is usina (by resolving). The range (R) of the projectile is the horizontal distance it travels during the motion. A particle is projected at a speed of u (m/s) at an angle of a to the horizontal: The suvat equations can be adapted to solve problems involving projectiles. m upward Graphs of Projectiles Example 1: Example 2: Notice how the acceleration for both examples shows a downward acceleration. Tip: we don’t need time nor are we asked it so look for the equation WITHOUT it. How far the particle travels will depend on the speed of projection and the angle of projection. Step 3: Equation We now choose an equation with the information that we HAVE and the information that we NEED. When a particle is projected from the ground it will follow a curved path, before hitting the ground.
