Science lesson 2: Horizontal Projectiles

• Projectile motion

  A two-dimensional motion influenced solely by gravity that has a nonzero horizontal velocity component
• Projectile motion examples


  • a baseball thrown by the pitcher
  • a golf ball hit by the club
  • a basketball thrown toward the basket
• Projectile motion

  • Objects move in two directions at once: up and down because of gravity (vertical direction), and forward or sideways because of the initial push or throw (horizontal direction)
• Projectile

  Any object shot, projected, or launched in the air
• Trajectory


  The curved or parabolic path followed by a projectile
• Range


  The horizontal distance covered by a projectile
• The horizontal and vertical motions of a projectile are independent of each other</b>
• Horizontal component of projectile motion

  • Follows a constant velocity motion
• Vertical component of projectile motion

  • Follows a constant downward acceleration
• A projectile covers the same distance per time interval as an object in free fall
• The effect of air resistance is neglected in projectile motion
• Vertical motion of a projectile

  • Is a uniformly accelerated motion
• Horizontal motion of a projectile

  • Is a constant motion
• The time it takes for the projectile to cover the vertical distance is the same as the time it requires to cover the horizontal distance
• Solving for time in one component (horizontal or vertical) is enough because it will also give you the time for the other component
• Projectile motion


  Two-dimensional motion influenced solely by gravity that has a nonzero horizontal velocity component
• Projectile


  Any object shot, projected, or launched in the air. It may refer to a ball, a rock, or even a particle
• Trajectory


  The curve or parabolic path followed by a projectile
• The vertical component of a projectile is similar to a free-falling object
• The horizontal component of a projectile is as simple as a ball rolling on a flat surface at a constant velocity
• Resultant velocity


  The vector sum of the horizontal and vertical components of the projectile's velocity