Dilangalen National High School SHS Department PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2 nd Quarter

NAME:_______________________________GR/SEC:______________DATE:_________ SCORE:________
SUMMATIVE TEST NO 3. Galilean Concept: Vertical Motion, Horizontal Motion, and Projectile Motion

Objectives:
In this lesson, you should be able to describe how Galileo used his discoveries in mechanics (and astronomy) to
address scientific objections to the Copernican model.
Why do objects move?
Scientists and philosophers alike have been trying to answer this question even before 300 B.C. One of the well-
known philosophers who attempted to do this was Aristotle. His attempt was based on inductive-deductive reasoning
and was accepted for centuries.
However, Galileo Galilei challenged the Aristotelian view of motion when he had his actual and thorough
experiments. He disagreed with most of Aristotle’s claims and provided his own description of motion.
Galilean Conceptions vs. Aristotelian Conceptions
According to Aristotle, motion can be either natural or violent motion. In a natural motion, the object will move and
will return to its natural state based on the object's material or composition. In contrast, an object moving in a violent
motion requires an external force (push or pull) for the object to move.
He also had his view on the projectile motion of an object. He believed that an object thrown at a certain angle is
given an impetus—a force or energy that permits an object to move. It will continue to move in such state until the
object’s impetus is lost, and the object returns to its natural state, causing it to stop and fall to the ground.
Galileo disproved Aristotle’s claims and believed that the motion of objects is not simply due to the composition of
objects. He mentioned that motion can be described by mathematics and the changes in some physical variables
such as time and distance. Using his actual and thorough experiments, he was able to prove that:
an object in uniform motion will travel a distance that is proportional to the time it will take to travel;
a uniformly accelerating object will travel at a speed proportional to some factor of time; and
an object in motion, if unimpeded, will continue to be in motion; an external force is not necessary to maintain the
motion.
Galileo's Conceptions of Motion
Horizontal motion
An object in motion, if unimpeded, will continue to be in motion, and an external
force is not necessary to maintain the motion. If the Earth’s surface is very flat and
extended infinitely, objects that are pushed will not be impeded. Thus, the objects
will continue to move. This kind of motion, however, is not evident in nature. For
example, if a ball is pushed on an infinitely flat plane, the ball will continue to roll if
unimpeded.

Vertical motion
In the absence of a resistance, objects would fall not depending
on their weight, but in the time of fall. Also, if the object
encountered a resistive force from a fluid equal or greater than its
weight, it will slow down and reaches a uniform motion until it
reaches the bottom and stops. For example, without any resistance, a
1-kg object will be as fast as a 10-kg object when falling because
they fall with the same amount of time, given that they are released
from the same height. Also, a stone dropped in the ocean will sooner
or later travel at constant speed.

Projectile motion
Galileo believed that a projectile is a combination of uniform motion in the horizontal
direction and uniformly accelerated motion in the vertical direction. If it is not
impeded, it will continue to move even without an applied force. For example,
when you shoot a ball in a basketball ring, the ball does not need a force to keep it
moving.
Performance Task No. 3
Who has a more acceptable view of falling objects, Aristotle, or Galileo? Try to test it in the following activities below.
Take note that in every activity, both objects should be dropped at the same time and at the same height.
1. Drop a coin and a flat sheet of bond paper .
2. Drop a coin and a sheet of paper crumbled to a ball.
3. Drop a coin with a flat sheet of paper on top of it.
4. In all three cases, which object reach the ground first? ___________________________________
5. Whose view is more acceptable then, and why?_________________________________________
Key Points
Galileo believed that an object in uniform motion will travel a distance that is proportional to the time it took to
travel; a uniformly accelerating object will travel with a speed proportional to some factor of time; and an object in
motion, if unimpeded, will continue to be in motion; an external force is not necessary to maintain the motion.
Galileo believed that a projectile is a combination of uniform motion in the horizontal direction and uniformly
accelerated motion in the vertical direction.
1. Which of the following does Galileo believe about motion?
A. A violent motion is caused by an external force.
B. Heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects if there is no resistance.
C. Objects move because of their elemental composition.
D. Objects will continue to be in uniform motion if unimpeded.
2. According to Galileo, an object in uniform motion will travel a distance that is proportional to _.
A. acceleration B. speed C. Time D. velocity
3. If the object encountered a resistive force from a fluid equal or greater than its weight, it will _.
A. Accelerate B. disappear C. have a uniform motion D. slow down
4. A metal ball dropped in a pool went down slowly. This means that the resistive force on the ball is _.A. equal to
its weight B. equal to zero C. greater than its weight D. less than its weight
5. Which of the following agrees with Galileo’s view of motion?
A. A feather will be as fast as an iron ball if dropped in a vacuum.
B. If a 10-kg boulder is dropped to the sea, it will stop midway.
C. Planets revolve around the Sun because of a Prime Mover.
D. Smoke rises because the sky is its natural place.
6. Which of the following is true about the projectile of an arrow when shot?
A. It creates a vacuum that sucks air in, and the air pushes the arrow.
B. It has a continuous applied force from the person who shot the arrow.
C. It has both uniform motion and uniformly accelerating motion.
D. It rises because arrows are mostly air.
7. Which of the following agrees with Galileo’s view of motion?
A. A balloon rises because it is mostly air, and the sky is its natural place.
B. A box will stop sliding in a frictionless plane if the applied force is removed.
C. A flying baseball has both uniform motion and uniformly accelerating motion.
D. An iron ball will always fall faster than a rubber ball.
8. According to Galileo's view, which will reach the floor of the vacuum chamber first, a sheet of paper or a bowling
ball?
A. The bowling ball will reach the vacuum chamber.
B. The sheet of paper will reach the vacuum chamber.
C. They will not reach the floor and will be sucked in the vacuum.
D. They will reach the floor at the same time.
9. A box sliding on the floor slowly stops.Why is this so?
A. The applied force from the pusher disappeared.
B. The boxes are usually made of earth, so the box, being a heavy element, stops.
C. The resistive force from the floor is equal to the applied force.
D. There was a force that impeded the sliding box.
10. Terminal velocity is the maximum velocity that an object could travel when it is falling with air resistance. When
an object is at terminal velocity, its velocity becomes constant.
Which Galilean concept helps explains this?
A. An external force is not necessary to maintain the movement of the object.
B. Any object will fall at the same rate.
C. Due to a resistive force, an object slows down and reaches a uniform motion.
D. The object’s travelled distance depends on the time.