Projectile Motion: Projectile motion is a fundamental concept in the field of
mechanics that is crucial for understanding the motion of objects in two
dimensions. It plays a significant role in understanding various engineering
applications, such as the trajectory of missiles, the flight of sports balls, and
aerospace engineering
.
Projectile motion refers to the motion of an object that is projected from the
earth’s surface into the air in a direction other than vertical and then moves
under the influence of gravity alone along a curved path. It is a special case of
curvilinear motion. Projectile motion involves the combination of horizontal
motion characterized by a constant velocity and vertical motion influenced by
gravity.
Mot
ion variable in projectile motion along x and y direction is given as;
Motion Variable in x Direction Motion Variable in y Direction
a x=0 a y=±g
Initial velocity u x = u cosθ Initial velocity u y = u sinθ
Velocity at any time t; v x = u x Velocity at any time t; v y = u y + a y t
Distance covered in time t; s y = u y t +
Distance covered in time t; s x = u x t
(1/2)a y t 2
Terms related to Projectile Motion
Understanding the mathematics behind projectile motion is essential for
solving problems and analysing real-world scenarios. Here are the terms and
fundamental equations for projectile motion:
Trajectory: The trajectory is the path followed by a projectile as it moves
through the air. It is typically a curved path due to the influence of
gravity. Trajectories can vary in shape, depending on the angle of
projection and initial velocity.
Velocity of Projection (u): The initial velocity is the speed and direction at
which a projectile is launched.
Angle of Projection (θ ): The angle of projection, also known as the launch
angle, is the angle between the initial velocity vector and the horizontal
axis.
Time of Flight (T): The time of flight is the total time that a projectile is in
motion from the moment it is launched until it hits the ground or a target.
It is a fundamental parameter used to analyse projectile motion.
Motion from 1 to 2 in y direction;
Since the projectile takes twice as long to travel from point 1 to point 3
compared to the time it takes to go from point 1 to point 2. Therefore,
Total time of flight, T = 2.t
Vertical Motion: The vertical motion of a projectile refers to its movement
along the vertical axis. The force of gravity affects the vertical motion,
causing the projectile to rise and fall. Vertical motion is governed by
equations that describe displacement, velocity, and time in the vertical
direction.
Maximum Height (H): The maximum height of a projectile is the highest
point it reaches above its point of launch. It occurs when the vertical
velocity becomes zero.
Motion in vertical direction from 1 to 2;
Horizontal Motion: The horizontal motion of a projectile refers to its
movement along the horizontal axis. In the absence of horizontal forces
(ignoring air resistance), the horizontal motion is uniform, meaning there
is no acceleration in this direction.
Range: The range is the horizontal distance travelled by a projectile from
its initial position to the point where it hits the ground.
Motion in horizontal direction from 1 to 3;
From the above expression, it is clear that for a given launch velocity
u, the range will be maximum if the value of the term sin 2q is
maximum.
sin 2θ = 1
sin 2θ= sin 90°
θ = 45°
The range in projectile motion will be maximum when the launch angle is 45
degrees, and the value of the maximum range will be
A projectile can have the same range for two angles of projection,
q 1 and q 2 , if these angles are complementary, meaning their sum is 90
degrees.
What Is Projectile?
A projectile is any object thrown into space upon which the only acting force is gravity.
The primary force acting on a projectile is gravity. This doesn’t necessarily mean that
other forces do not act on it, just that their effect is minimal compared to gravity. The
path followed by a projectile is known as a trajectory. A baseball batted or thrown is an
example of a projectile.
What Is Projectile Motion?
When a particle is thrown obliquely near the earth’s surface, it moves along a curved
path under constant acceleration directed towards the centre of the earth (we assume
that the particle remains close to the earth’s surface). The path of such a particle is
called a projectile, and the motion is called projectile motion.
In a Projectile Motion, there are two simultaneous independent rectilinear
motions:
1. Along the x-axis: uniform velocity, responsible for the horizontal (forward) motion of the
particle.
2. Along the y-axis: uniform acceleration, responsible for the vertical (downwards) motion of
the particle.
Acceleration in the horizontal projectile motion and vertical projectile motion of a
particle: When a particle is projected in the air with some speed, the only force acting
on it during its time in the air is the acceleration due to gravity (g). This acceleration acts
vertically downward. There is no acceleration in the horizontal direction, which means
that the velocity of the particle in the horizontal direction remains constant.
Parabolic Motion of Projectiles
Let us consider a ball projected at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal x-axis with
the initial velocity u as shown below:
The point O is called the point of projection; θ is the angle of projection and OB =
Horizontal Range or Simply Range. The total time taken by the particle from reaching
O to B is called the time of flight.
For finding different parameters related to projectile motion, we can make use of
differential equations of motions:
Total Time of Flight
Resultant displacement (s) = 0 in Vertical direction. Therefore, the time of flight formula
is given by using the Equation of motion:
gt2 = 2(uyt – sy) [Here, uy = u sin θ and sy = 0]
i.e. gt2 = 2t × u sin θ
Therefore, the time of flight formula (t) is given by:
2 u sin Θ
TotalTimeofFlight (t )=
g
Horizontal Range
Horizontal Range (OA) = Horizontal component of velocity (ux) × Total Flight Time (t)
R = u cos θ × 2u×sinθg
Therefore, in a projectile motion, the Horizontal Range is given by (R):
2
u sin 2 Θ
HorizontalRange ( R )=
g
Maximum Height of Projectile
After understanding what a projectile is, let us know the maximum height of the
projectile. The object’s maximum height is the highest vertical position along its
trajectory. The horizontal displacement of the projectile is called the range of the
projectile. The range of the projectile depends on the object’s initial velocity.
If v is the initial velocity, g = acceleration due to gravity and H = maximum height in
metres, θ = angle of the initial velocity from the horizontal plane (radians or degrees).
The maximum height of the projectile is given by the formula:
2 2
v 0 si n θ
H=
2g
The Equation of Trajectory
2
gx
EquationofTrajectory=xtanΘ− 2 2
2 u co s Θ
This is the equation of trajectory in projectile motion, and it proves that the projectile
motion is always parabolic in nature.
Application of projectile motion
We know that projectile motion is a type of two-dimensional motion or motion in a plane.
It is assumed that the only force acting on a projectile (the object experiencing projectile
motion) is the force due to gravity.
But how can we define projectile motion in the real world? How are the concepts of
projectile motion applicable to daily life? Let us see some real-life examples of projectile
motion in two dimensions.
All of us know about basketball. The player jumps a little to score a basket and throws
the ball in the basket. The motion of the ball is in the form of a projectile. Hence, it is
referred to as projectile motion. What advantage does jumping give to their chances of
scoring a basket? Now, apart from basketballs, if we throw a cricket ball, a stone in a
river, a javelin throw, an angry bird, a football or a bullet, all these motions have one
thing in common. They all show a projectile motion. And that is, the moment they are
released, there is only one force acting on them- gravity. It pulls them downwards, thus
giving all of them an equal, impartial acceleration.
It implies that if something is being thrown in the air, it can easily be predicted how long
the projectile will be in the air and at what distance it will hit the ground from the initial
point. If the air resistance is neglected, there would be no acceleration in the horizontal
direction. This implies that as long as a body is thrown near the surface, the body’s
motion can be considered a two-dimensional motion, with acceleration only in one
direction. But how can it be concluded that a body thrown in the air follows a two-
dimensional path? To understand this, let us assume a ball that is rolling as shown
below:
Figure 1 Motion in one dimension
Now, if the ball is rolled along the path shown, what can we say about the dimension of motion? The
most common answer would be that it has an x-component and a y-component, it is moving on a
plane, so it must be an example of motion in two dimensions. But it is not correct, as it can be
noticed that there exists a line that can completely define the basketball’s motion. Thus, it is an
example of motion in one dimension. Therefore, the choice of axis does not alter the nature of the
motion itself.
Figure 2 Motion in Plane
Now, if the ball is thrown at some angle, as shown, the velocity of the ball has an x-component and a
y-component and also a z-component. So, does it mean that it is a three-dimensional motion? It can
be seen here that a line cannot define such a motion, but a plane can. Therefore, for a body thrown
at any angle, there exists a plane that entirely contains the motion of that body. Thus, it can be
concluded that as long as a body is near the surface of the Earth and the air resistance can be
neglected, then irrespective of the angle of projection, it will be a two-dimensional motion, no matter
how the axes are chosen. If the axes here are rotated in such a way that, then and can completely
define the motion of the ball as shown below:
Thus, it can be concluded that the minimum number of coordinates required to define
the motion of a body completely determines the dimension of its motion.
