ABSTRACT:

A projectile motion is a two-dimensional motion that has both vertical and horizontal motion which are
independent of each other and has constant acceleration. The experiment aims study the two-dimensional motion by
observing the trajectory of objects at different circumstances. The experiment has three cases: Initial Velocity of a
Projectile, Range of a Projectile and Trajectory. Each case has unknown variables needed to be solved by deriving the
kinematic equations. Data gathered showed that a projectile's trajectory is parabolic and a projectile's maximum
range can be attained at a 45° angle while angles close to 45° which are complementary will have
approximately close horizontal ranges.
Keywords: projectile, two-dimensional motion, trajectory, parabolic

INTRO:
Projectile motion is, in general, a two-dimensional motion that results from an object with an initial
velocity in one direction experiencing a constant force in a different direction. A projectile can move in
both the horizontal and vertical directions due to the influence of gravity on the object. Although both
motions in each direction are connected, the x-direction and y-direction motions should be treated
independently and thus, can be analyzed separately. The path taken by a projectile is called a trajectory and
it take the shape of a parabola.
Since air resistance is neglected and the gravity is present in the experiment, the x-component has an
acceleration of zero and the y-component is constant and equal to the value of earth's gravity (9.8 m/s²). Since
acceleration due to gravity is present in projectiles, we can use the kinematic equations to solve for unknown
quantities in the experiment such as:
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜 − 𝑔t (1)

𝑥 = 𝑥𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜𝑥 𝑡 (2)

where 𝑣𝑜𝑥 = 𝑣𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃

1
𝑦 = 𝑦𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜𝑦 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2 (3)
2

where 𝑣𝑜𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

𝑣𝑦2 = 𝑣𝑜𝑦
2
− 2𝑔(𝑦 − 𝑦𝑜 ) (4)

Where 𝑣 is the velocity, 𝑣𝑜 is the initial velocity, g is the negative gravity (−9.8𝑚/𝑠 2 ), 𝑥 is the range, 𝑥𝑜 is
the initial range, 𝑣𝑜𝑥 is the initial velocity of the x-component, 𝑦 is the height, 𝑦𝑜 is the initial height, 𝑣𝑜𝑦 is the initial
velocity of the y-component, 𝑣𝑦 is the velocity of the y-component, 𝑡 is the time, and 𝜃 is the angle.
The experiment includes three different problems. For the first two problems, the initial velocity and range
with respect to various angles are unknown and for the last problem, the experimental trajectory is to be compared
with the theoretical trajectory.
For a projectile thrown horizontally, the vertical component of the velocity increases while the horizontal
component of the velocity is constant and is also denoted as the initial velocity. The height of the origin (yo ) and the
range R are keys to determine the initial velocity, which is given by:
R
Vo = (5)
2Yo
√ g

The experiment aims study the two-dimensional motion by observing the trajectory of objects at different
circumstances.

METHOD:
The experiment was divided into three cases: Initial Velocity of a Projectile, Range of a Projectile and
Trajectory. For this experiment, a steel ball was launched using a Pasco ME-6825 mini launcher. The launcher was,
first, secured to the table using a clamp. For the first case, the initial height of the launcher was 87 cm from the ground
measured using a meter stick. While for the remaining two cases, the table was assumed to be ground level in which
the initial height was 0. A carbon paper attached to some yellow paper was used to indicate the point where the ball
lands then it is measured using a meter stick from the mini launcher to that point.
For the first case, the mini launcher was set on the edge of the table so that the projectile will fall on the floor
when it is fired. The mini launcher was, then, set to fire horizontally with the steel ball set to short range. The carbon
paper and yellow paper was placed where the steel ball was expected to land. The launcher was fired and the point
where the steel ball landed was marked on the yellow paper. The launcher was fired for five trials. Then, the horizontal
distance (range) of each trial from the point where the ball landed and the initial position was measured using a meter
stick. By plugging the values of the height and the average range of each of the five trials to equation 4, the initial
velocity of the ball was computed.
For the second experiment, the launcher was clamped to the table wherein the mouth of the launcher was
leveled with the table so that the initial position of the ball is x=0 and y=0 and so that projectile will fall on the table
itself rather than the floor. The gun was positioned at different angles (20 °, 30°, 45°, 60° and 70°) then, carbon paper
was placed where the ball was expected to land. Five trials were performed for each angle respectively. Then, the
horizontal distance from the initial position to the point of impact was measured. The average distance measured from
the five trials will be the range of the projectile for the given angle.
For the last case, the mini launcher was set to fire at a 30° angle facing a cork board with the carbon paper
with yellow paper attached to it. The launcher was fired at 5 different distances (25 cm, 50 cm, 75 cm, 100 cm, 125
cm) from the launcher. The carbon paper attached to the cork board was used to mark the point of impact for each
distance. The height of these points were measured relative to the edge of the cork board.
Then, the theoretical trajectory of the projectile was determined by using the initial velocity of the projectile
solved in the first case and the initial height recorded. Since values for the range are present, we need to solve for the
values of the height. First, we use equation (2) to derive the formula for time but since the initial range is zero, the
equation will be:
𝑥
𝑡= (6)
𝑣𝑜𝑥

and then solve for the values of height using equation (3). Then, the theoretical and experimental trajectory
were illustrated and compared in one graph.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

This section presents and analyzes the results of the experiment.

Table 1. Initial Velocity of a Projectile Launched Horizontally

Table 1 shows the gathered data for case 1. The initial height from the mouth of the mini launcher
to the ground was 87 cm. The range was tabulated by taking the average values of the five trials while the
initial velocity was calculated by plugging in the values of the initial height and the average range which
turbed out to be 385.4 cm/s².

Figure 1. Range of the Projectile Given Various Angles

Figure 1 shows the data gathered for case 2 wherein the mini launcher was set to fire at 20°, 30°,
45°, 60° and 90° which yielded an average horizontal range of 102.9, 136.2, 145.5, 127.7 and 91.7,
respectively. The figure also illustrates that the 45° angle produced the longest horizontal range while the
90° angle produced the shortest. Furthermore, the figure shows the relationship between two
complimentary angles (30° and 60°). These two angles have almost equal values. Therefore, angles closer
to 45° or shallow angles such as 30° and 60° have larger ranges than that of farther or steeper angles such
as 20° and 90°. This proves that the trajectory of a projectile is parabolic in nature.

Figure 2. Experimental and Theoretical Trajectory of the Projectile at a 30° angle

 Figure 2 compares the experimental and theoretical trajectory of the projectile set at a 30° angle
with an initial height of y=0. The values of the chosen range are 25 cm, 50 cm, 75 cm, 100 cm and 125 cm.
The measured values for the experimental heights with respect to their corresponding ranges are 12.7 cm,
18.6 cm, 19.2 cm, 14.6 cm and 4.2 cm, respectively. The theoretical heights, on the other hand, was
calculated by calculating for the time given by equation (4) then substituting the answer to equation (3) to
get the height. The theoretical heights with respect to their corresponding ranges are 11.7, 17.9, 18.6, 13.8
and 3.4, respectively.
Both trajectories are parabolic but the experimental trajectory produced a higher parabola. This is
due to errors present during the experiment such as inaccuracies in measuring both the range and the angle.
Also, different external forces such as air-resistance and the Earth's rotation, which was neglected for the
theoretical set-up, may have affected the experimental set-up.

CONCLUSION:
Based on the data gathered for this experiment, the trajectory of a projectile is often times parabolic
because of the initial force applied on the object and the force of gravity pulling it down. This causes the
projectile to experience two-dimensional motion. Furthermore, a projectile fired horizontally at theta=0
with respect to a height not equal to zero produces a constant initial velocity which is also its horizontal
component is independent of the acceleration of the vertical component. Furthermore, a projectile's
maximum range can be attained at a 45° angle while angles close to 45° which are complementary will
have approximately close horizontal ranges.