What is Projectile motion: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by a launched object. Ballistics (Greek: βάλλειν, romanized: ba'llein, lit. 'to throw') is the science of dynamics that deals with the flight, behavior and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, unguided bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.

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  1. O

    Help getting projectile motion equations straight in my head

    Homework Statement In the figure, you throw a ball toward a wall at speed 26.0 m/s and at angle θ0 = 37.0˚ above the horizontal. The wall is distance d = 17.0 m from the release point of the ball. (a) How far above the release point does the ball hit the wall? What are the (b) horizontal and...
  2. W

    Calculating Displacement and Landing Position of a Horizontal Projectile

    Homework Statement A tennis ball is thrown horizontally from an elevation of 13.03m above the ground with a speed of 24.0m/s. a)where is the ball after 1.50 seconds (both horizontally and vertically)? b) if the ball is still in the air, how long before it hits the ground? c) if...
  3. J

    How can I calculate the car's position when it lands in the ocean?

    Your friends car is parked on a cliff overlooking the ocean on an incline that makes an angle of 18.9 (degrees) below the horizontal. The brakes fail, and the car rolls from rest down the incline for a distance of 26.7 m to the edge of the cliff, which is 82.4 m above the ocean, and...
  4. G

    Solving a 2D Projectile Motion Problem: Find x

    Homework Statement A ball is launched from a cliff 1 meter high. At the bottom of the cliff, the ground is not flat, it slants downward at a 45 degree angle as show. The ball's initial; velocity is 10 m/s and makes a 20 degree angle with the horizontal. Find x, the horizontal displacement of...
  5. N

    Projectile Motion - hammer sliding off a roof

    Homework Statement A hammer slides off the roof of a house that slopes downward at 40 degrees. The edge of teh roof is 14m avove the ground and the hammer leaves the roof at 7m/s. How far from the edge of the roof does the hammer strike the ground?Homework Equations x direction Vx=V0x...
  6. C

    Projectile Motion: Find Launch Speed

    Homework Statement Your alpine rescue team is using a slingshot to send an emergency medical packet to climbers stranded on a ledge on the side of a mountain. If the height of the ledge is 270m (y = 270m) and the ledge is 390m from the slingshot (x = 390m), what is the initial velocity of...
  7. N

    Projectile Motion - Rock Thrown Horizontally Off a Cliff

    Homework Statement A student stands on the edge of a cliff and throws a stone horizontally over the edge with a speed "v1". The cliff is "h" meters high. Given [h,v1], Determine: a. The time to hit the ground b. The horizontal distance traveled c. The magnitude and direction of the stone's...
  8. O

    Projectile motion car acceleration problem

    Homework Statement A car is parked near a cliff overlooking the ocean on an incline that makes an angle of 29.3 degrees with the horizontal. The negligent driver leaves the car in neutral, and the emergency brakes are defective. The car rolls from rest down the incline and has a velocity of...
  9. S

    Projectile motion equation question (2D)

    I need to calculate the max height and distance (at the max height) of a ball traveling 33.6m/s 30 degrees above the x-axis. The max height was no problem, but I tried finding the distance using an arc length equation (with respect to time) and it didn't work. My distance was shorter than my...
  10. J

    Solving a Basketball Player's Projectile Motion Problem

    A basketball player shoots a basketball a distance of 6.5 m from the hoop releasing the ball at a height of 1.5 m above the ground. The basketball goal’s rim stands 3 m above the ground. If the player shoots the ball at an angle of 43 degree with the horizontal, what initial speed must he shoot...
  11. I

    Projectile Motion Archery Problem

    Hey guys, i realize this question has been asked on these forums before, and i have seen those posts, but they don't make sense to me, and this question is on my test tomorrow so i really need to figure it out. Homework Statement You are watching an archery tournament when you start...
  12. M

    Help with this problem : Projectile Motion

    Homework Statement http://www.webassign.net/CJ/3-45alt.gif ... (y = 0.46 m, and x = 6.6 m.) From the top of a tall building, a gun is fired. The bullet leaves the gun at a speed of 340 m/s, parallel to the ground. As the drawing shows, the bullet puts a hole in a window of another building and...
  13. D

    Projectile motion really confused please reply soon

    Homework Statement A baseball player leads off the game and hits a long home run. The ball leaves the bat at an angle of 30.0o from the horizontal with a velocity of 40.0 m/s. How far will it travel in the air? [141 m] Homework Equations Equations of motion The Attempt at a Solution...
  14. S

    What Height Was the Ball Thrown From in This Projectile Motion Problem?

    Homework Statement A ball thrown horizontally at 24 m/s travels a horizontal distance of 49 m before hitting the ground. From what height was the ball thrown? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I'm not sure how to start this. Could someone please help?
  15. D

    Projectile motion in serious need of help

    I need loads of help, i have a physics test on friday and have been studying vigorously; i haven't been lazy and have been working fopr 8 weeks, i tried to do this question and i have no clue HELP ME PLEASE! Homework Statement A place-kicker must kick a football from a point 36.0 m...
  16. J

    Projectile Motion initial speed

    For the initial speed of an ideal projectile, how many launch angles equal for the range of the projectile -1 -2 -more than 2 but an infinite number of -only one if the angle is 45 but other wise only 2 -an infinite number
  17. P

    Need derivation of projectile motion

    Hey i need derivation of projectile motion.. All four equation.. including range,height,X-axis distance,y-axis distance..
  18. L

    Why Does Setting the Derivative to Zero Find the Max Range in Projectile Motion?

    Homework Statement After i get the formula x = Vo2sin(2θ)/g, I was told that I can take the derivative of x and let that equal to zero to get the max range of the projectile. Why? What does taking the derivative do in order to help us find the max angle? I know that the value of the derivative...
  19. S

    Projectile motion: finding angle

    Homework Statement The free throw line in basketball is 4.57 m (15ft) from the basket, which is 3.05m (10ft) above the floor. A player standing on the free throw line throws the ball with an initial speed of 7.15 m/s, releasing it at a height of 2.44m (8ft) above the floor. At what angle above...
  20. 1

    Conceptual problem with projectile motion

    Homework Statement [PLAIN]http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4554/physicshomework.png Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I have the right answer because it is obvious, but I wanted to practice working this out regardless, and I have something slightly different for...
  21. B

    Kinetic projectile motion (Helicopter questions)

    Homework Statement A helicopter flies upward at 3.0m/s. The pilot drops a coke bottle when the helicopter is 30.0m above ground. How long will it take the coke bottle to hit the ground? (2.8s) *Note* We can't factor or use quadratics to solve Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution...
  22. A

    What is the Time and Velocity for Projectile Motion with a Hose?

    The problem goes like this. A lady holds a hose 0.8m off the ground such that the water coming out of it reaches a point 2m away. So the given are a(acceleration): 9.8m/s value for y: 0.8m value for x: 2.0m To find: t (time) Velocity for both x and y I forgot to bring my notes so I can't...
  23. S

    Projectile Motion: Finding the correct angle for a launch

    Homework Statement A Hollywood daredevil plans to jump the canyon shown in the figure on a motorcycle. There is a 15. m drop and the horizontal distance originally planned was 60. m but it turns out the canyon is really 69.4 m across. If he desires a 3.0-second flight time, what is the...
  24. N

    Solving for Height in Horizontal Projectile Motion: 41 m/s, 23 m, g = -9.8m/s

    This was an even numbered problem from the book so there are no answers to make sure I've done this correctly or not. Homework Statement An arrow fires horizontally at 41 m/s travels 23 m horizontally. From what height was it fired? Vi = 41 m/s a = g = -9.8m/s x = 23m Homework...
  25. W

    Missle Defense System (Projectile Motion)

    Problem: If it helps, the diagram for this problem can be found here: http://lon-capa.mines.edu/res/csm/csmphyslib/Mechanics/Kinematics/2D_Projectiles/MissileDefenseSystem.jpg In the diagram, a2 is the acceleration a, as indicated by the equation below. You are designing a missile defense...
  26. W

    Why Did My Projectile Motion Calculation Yield the Incorrect Height?

    Okay, so I don't know what it is I'm doing wrong here. Here is the question: A projectile is fired from the ground (you can assume the initial height is the same as the ground) in a field so there are no obstacles in its way. It is fired at an angle 33° with respect to the horizontal and...
  27. 1

    Projectile motion of a fired gun

    Homework Statement A projectile is fired horizontally from a gun that is 99.0 m above flat ground, emerging from the gun at a speed of 250 m/s how long is it in the air? how far does it travel horizontally? vertical component of velocity as it strikes the ground? Homework...
  28. A

    Projectile Motion and Integration

    Homework Statement A projectile is launched from the origin a distance h above the Earth's surface with an initial velocity having speed v_0 and direction Theta_0 with respect to horizontal x-axis. Obtain an integral expression for the distance s the projectile travels along its path until it...
  29. J

    Conceptual Projectile Motion with Wind Resistance

    Homework Statement How should the thrower adjust the angles of launch if he is throwing the object into a velocity of 40 m/s wind? Homework Equations N/A The Attempt at a Solution I really have no idea. Personally, I think throwing the object at a lower angle would help throwing...
  30. A

    Is this solvable? Projectile motion

    Homework Statement You are standing at the top of a cliff and want to know how far it is to the bottom so you throw a rock as hard as you can horizontally over the edge of the cliff and time how long it takes before you hear it hit the bottom. Let us assume it takes around 15 seconds. How high...
  31. M

    Projectile Motion or Motion in Two dimension

    Homework Statement A ball is thrown by Jed in the street and caught 2 seconds later by Jelo on the balcony of the house 15m away and 5.0m above the street level. What was the speed of the ball and the angle above the horizontal at which it was thrown? Homework Equations The Attempt...
  32. A

    3D Projectile Motion: Finding Y and Z Coordinates of Landing Position of Ball

    Homework Statement A perfectly spherical ball is launched horizontally with a linear velocity of 9.9 m/s and an angular velocity (perpendicular to its trajectory) of 4.1 m/s. The ball's mass is 5.0g. (Diagram for explanation of coordinate system)...
  33. P

    Solving Projectile Motion Equation from Physics 8e - Chapter 3 Page 70

    1. this is straight out of PHYSICS 8e by cutnell and johnson chapter 3 page 70 there are two solutions to this equation. one is given by (14 m/s + 1/2 (-9.8 m/s ^2)t = 0 or t = 2.9s what i can't seem to work out is how did they get t = 2.9s from those calculations 2. y = Voyt +...
  34. S

    Prooving a projectile motion formula

    Homework Statement Two rocks are thrown from a cliff of height h at the same speed V0. One rock is thrown up at angle (Theta 1) adn the other is thrown down at angle (Theta 2). Show that both rocks hit the ground at the same speed. V= (V0^2+2gh)^(.5) Homework Equations...
  35. S

    Projectile Motion with Air Resistance

    Guys, Hello, I am a high school student who has just started basic calculus and would like to know how to find the motion of the projectile taking air resistance into account. (The range, time, etc)(I have learned about projectile motion without air resistance) Please help me.
  36. H

    Why must vertical acceleration always be negative on projectile motion?

    y= y_0 + v_(y0)t - 1/2gt^2 why is it -1/2 gt^2? what if somebody was to throw ball downward? is that still negative velocity? wait, does negative in velocity mean direction?? or slowing down kind of confused while writing this question if it is direction why is it negative for...
  37. H

    Projectile motion questiondon't understand about angles and vectors

    Homework Statement Giancoli 5th edition chapter 3 problem 38 a rescue plane wants to drop supplies to isolated mountain climbers on a rocky ridge 235m below the plane is traveling horizontally with a speed of 69.4m/s b) supposes, instead that the plane releases the supplies a horizontal...
  38. P

    Projectile motion apple throw problem

    Homework Statement A child sitting in a tree throws his apple core from where he is perched (4.0m high) with a velocity of 5.0 m/s [35 degrees above horiztontal], and it hits the ground right next to his friend. A) How long is it before the apple core hits the ground? B) How far from...
  39. N

    Projectile Motion: Solving for Vx and Vy

    Projectile Motion Question Homework Statement A cannon fires a projectile Velocity = 40 m/s The angle of the cannon= 35 degrees solve for Vx= V*cos(angle) and Vy=V*sin(angle) I am having a problem understand this concept relative to what the screenshot below shows...
  40. Femme_physics

    Solving for Horizontal Projectile Motion: Mechanics Final Question

    This is one of the questions at the mechanics finals that I skipped. Homework Statement http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1702/mecccs.jpg In the drawing is described the trajectory of a stone cast from a cliff at point A in an initial horizontal velocity V. During its motion the stone...
  41. E

    Projectile Motion Help: Proving Equations for Velocity and Time

    projectile motion help needed! Homework Statement If v1, v2, v3 are the velocities at three points A, B , C of the path of a projectile, where the inclinations to the horizon are α, α-β, α-2β and if t1, t2 are the times of describing the arcs AB and BC respectively, prove that v3*t1 =...
  42. M

    Projectile Motion Golf Question

    Homework Statement Not too long ago, an interesting thing happened at the Canadian Open Golf Tournament. Tiger Woods bounced his tee shot off of a young spectator’s head in the last round of the tournament. The ball made contact for 0.08 seconds, and struck the boy’s head at a velocity of...
  43. J

    Projectile motion of mortar round problem

    Homework Statement A mortar round is fired over a building that is 2600m away, at an initial velocity of 240m/s. The building is 1600m tall and 100m wide. Calculate the distances which are safe from mortar shells left of the building. Homework Equations 1.) Vy(t) = Vyo - at 2.)...
  44. I

    Proof and challenge about projectile motion

    Hey guys, its me again! This time, I was reading about projectile motion in my textbook, and noticed that they didn't prove some of the claims presented about this topic. So I decided to try and prove it myself as a challenge. I included it here as a PDF. It's a pretty short and simple proof...
  45. A

    How Far Does a Ball Travel Horizontally Before Hitting the Ceiling?

    Homework Statement a ball is thrown from the floor at an angle of 45 degrees and with an initial velocity of sqrt(6gD) where D is the height of the room. How far does the ball travel horizontally before hitting the ceiling? Homework Equations y=tan(a)x-gx^2/(2v^2cos(a)^2) The Attempt at a...
  46. S

    Projectile motion of a thrown object

    [b]1. an object is thrown upwardly from the roof of a building of height 30.8m with an initial velocity 23.8m/s at an angle 30degree to the horizontal. find the horizontal distance from the foot of the building to the point where the object hits the ground. assume g=9.8m/s^2 answer is 82.4m...
  47. E

    Projectile motion problem involving finding launch angle

    1. OK so if you imagine a projectile is fired with an inital velocity (u) of 400 m/s at an angle theta. What two values of theta will cause the projectile to hit a point b that is 5 km horizontally away from the point of launch and 1.5 km vertically? u (magnitude)= 400 m/s deltaH = 1500 m (1.5...
  48. S

    Projectile motion of a stuntman

    [b]1. a stuntman performs a stunt of speeding off the cliff of a high rise building with the aim reaching another building with a distance away as the distance between two building is 62m and the differences height between two building is 48m. find the minimum velocity that the car must have as...
  49. K

    Homework problem on projectile motion

    Homework Statement Question: James and Steve have a contest to see who can kick a football further. James kicks the football at an angle up of 57 degrees, and a speed of 75m/s. Steve kicks the ball with a speed of 100m/s, at an angle up of 48 degrees? Who wins the contest? Vix=75cos57...
  50. S

    Projectile motion experimental vs theoretical results

    in projectile motion, why the experimental results are different with theoretical result? thank you
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