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The vertical velocity of a projectile changes by 9.8 m/s each second, The horizontal motion of a projectile is independent of its vertical motion. In this portion of Lesson 2 you will learn how to describe the motion of projectiles numerically.
- Horizontally Launched Projectile Problems
While the general principles are the same for each type of...
- Horizontal and Vertical Displacement
In this example, the initial horizontal velocity is 20 m/s...
- Motion Characteristics of a Projectile
The vertical velocity changes by -9.8 m/s each second of...
- Initial Velocity Components
The horizontal and vertical motion of a projectile are...
- What is a Projectile
In Unit 1 of the Physics Classroom Tutorial, we learned a...
- There is a Vertical Force Acting Upon a Projectile But No Horizontal Force
In Unit 1 of the Physics Classroom Tutorial, we learned a...
- Projectile Motion Simulator
The Projectile Simulator Interactive provides the learner...
- Addition of Forces
In Unit 2 we studied the use of Newton's second law and...
- Horizontally Launched Projectile Problems
The time for projectile motion is completely determined by the vertical motion. So any projectile that has an initial vertical velocity of 14.3 m / s 14.3 m / s and lands 20.0 m below its starting altitude will spend 3.96 s in the air.
Since there is acceleration only in the vertical direction, the velocity in the horizontal direction is constant, being equal to . The vertical motion of the projectile is the motion of a particle during its free fall.
An object’s horizontal position, velocity, or acceleration does not affect its vertical position, velocity, or acceleration. These motions can only be related by the time variable t . It is easy to forget that horizontal motion has constant velocity (and zero acceleration!) while vertical motion has constant acceleration.
While the ball is rising and falling vertically, the horizontal motion continues at a constant velocity. This example asks for the final velocity. Thus, we recombine the vertical and horizontal results to obtain v → v → at final time t , determined in the first part of the example.
Since steeper launch angles have a larger vertical velocity component, increasing the launch angle increases the time in air. For deeper explanations of the relationship between projectile time in air and initial vertical velocity, see Sal’s video on the optimal angle for a projectile.
The vertical velocity changes by -9.8 m/s each second of motion. On the other hand, the horizontal acceleration is 0 m/s/s and the projectile continues with a constant horizontal velocity throughout its entire trajectory.
