Taylor 2.

22
a) The first thing we want to do is to examine and plot the behavior of a projectile in a vacuum. Start by defining the range in a
vacuum:

q*p q*p
v0 2 CosB F SinB F
180 180
R@q_D := 2 ;
g
g = 1; H* For purposes of comparison *L
v0 = 1;
Range ÿ g
vacuum = PlotBR@qD, 8q, 0, 90<, Frame Ø True, FrameLabel -> :"Launch Angle HDegreesL", " ">,
v0 2
LabelStyle Ø 8FontFamily Ø "Times", FontSize Ø 12, FontWeight Ø "Bold"<, RotateLabel Ø TrueF

1.0

0.8

0.6
Range ! g
v0 2

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80
Launch Angle HDegreesL
v0 2
So, in a vacuum, the maximum range occurs at 45° and R = .
g

b) Now, consider the influence of linear drag. Take equation 2.39 from the book and find a numerical solution for the range at q=45°
vter
using Mathematica’s NSolve[] function . Note that for vter = 1, t = =1.
g

q = 45;
t = 1;
vter = 1;
q*p
v0 SinB F + vter Rlin
180
NSolveB Rlin + vter t LogB1 - F == 0, Rlin F
q*p q*p
v0 CosB F v0 CosB F
180 180

NSolve::ifun : Inverse functions are being used by NSolve, so some

solutions may not be found; use Reduce for complete solution information. à
80., 0.490986<
2 Taylor 2.22.nb • 8/27/12

c) Now, let’s try some other angles. What Mathematica is returning from NSolve is a collection of rules. To extract the
rules for Rlin out of the above result, use the Rlin ê. () syntax.
q*p
v0 SinB F + vter Rlin
180
Rlin ê. NSolveB Rlin + vter t LogB1 - F == 0, Rlin F
q*p q*p
v0 CosB F v0 CosB F
180 180

NSolve::ifun : Inverse functions are being used by NSolve, so some

solutions may not be found; use Reduce for complete solution information. à
80., 0.490986<

Now, fill a table with R values and plot the results.

nsteps = 1000;
rangevsangle = Table@0, 8i, 1, nsteps<, 8j, 1, 2<D;
ForBi = 1, i § nsteps, i ++,
q = H89 ê nstepsL * HiL;
q*p
v0 SinB F + vter Rlin
180
rlin = Rlin ê. NSolveB Rlin + vter t LogB1 - F == 0, Rlin F ;
q*p q*p
v0 CosB F v0 CosB F
180 180
rangevsangle@@i, 1DD = q;
rangevsangle@@i, 2DD = rlin@@2DD;
F;

NSolve::ifun : Inverse functions are being used by NSolve, so some

solutions may not be found; use Reduce for complete solution information. à
NSolve::ifun : Inverse functions are being used by NSolve, so some
solutions may not be found; use Reduce for complete solution information. à
NSolve::ifun : Inverse functions are being used by NSolve, so some
solutions may not be found; use Reduce for complete solution information. à
General::stop : Further output of NSolve::ifun will be suppressed during this calculation. à
lindrag = ListPlot@rangevsangleD

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

20 40 60 80
Taylor 2.22.nb • 8/27/12 3

Show@vacuum, lindragD

1.0

0.8

0.6
Range ! g
v0 2

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80
Launch Angle HDegreesL
We see that both the range and the angle at which the range is maximized are affected by the linear drag. Now, to find those exact
values, we can either inspect our data Table or we can use Mathematica’s cool interpolation features.

Max@rangevsangle@@2DDD

89
500
rlinfunc@theta_D := Interpolation@rangevsangleD@thetaD
Plot@rlinfunc@thetaD, 8theta, 2, 80<D

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

20 40 60 80

FindMaximum@rlinfunc@thetaD, 8theta<D

80.514044, 8theta Ø 35.5897<<

v0 2
So, the maximum range of (0.51 O occurs at an angle of 35.6°. So the range is cut in half as compared to the vacuum values, and
g

it occurs at a sahllower launch angle.

4 Taylor 2.22.nb • 8/27/12

v0 2
So, the maximum range of (0.51 O occurs at an angle of 35.6°. So the range is cut in half as compared to the vacuum values, and
g

it occurs at a sahllower launch angle.