Notes: Projectile Motion

projectile- any object launched, thrown or shot through the air under the force of gravity. (neglecting air resistance)

http://phet.colorado.edu/new/simulations/sims.php?sim=Projectile_Motion

trajectory – path followed by projectile shape is a parabolaparabolic curve- where every point is the

same distance from the focus as it is from the directrix.

Projectile Examples

• http://www.mathsisfun.com/games/tanks.html

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9niqSk9VCi8&feature=related

• Other videos

Projectile Examples

• Is a frisbee a projectile? An airplane? A rocket?

Parabola

http://www.richland.edu/james/lecture/m116/conics/paradef.html

Projectile TrajectoryVy = decreasing

Vy = 0

-Vy = increasing

Vx = constant

Range – max x traveled by projectile

Height – y at given time

Max height of projectile, Vy = 0

X-motion and Y-motion are independent

Trajectory of object can be resolved into components to find two independent velocities

Ax = Acos = Vx

Ay = Asin = Vy

***Strategy – both horizontal motion and vertical motion are connected by the variable time (t) at the same point on a trajectory. Solving for t in one dimension gives t in the other dimension.