Name_____________________ Projectile Motion Period______

Projectile Motion PHeT Lab - https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/projectile-motion/projectile-motion_en.html

Instructions: - Google search Projectile Motion PHeT Lab. Choose the first link.
- Choose bowling ball from the projectile list
- Set the initial speed to 20 m/s
- Leave mass and diameter alone
To Begin: Start firing projectiles at 10 increments, starting with 90 degrees (90, 80, 70, etc.). Feel free
to move the target on the ground (do this by clicking on it) to predict where your projectile is going to hit.
Record the range and the time of each projectile fired in the table below. Rank the maximum heights from 1
to 9 (1 being the highest, 9 being the lowest)

Angle () Range (m) Time (s) Height (m)

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10

Answer the guided questions below based on the information in the table.

1. Draw the flight path of your cannon.

2. Look at your drawing from Number 1. Focus on the BEGINNING of the launch.
a. In which directions did your cannon move? (up, down, forward, backward)

b. In how many directions did your cannon move? (1,2,3,4)

3. Look at your drawing from Number 1. Focus on the END of the launch.
a. In which directions did your cannon move? (up, down, forward, backward)

b. In how many directions did your cannon move? (1, 2, 3, 4)

4) Draw the flight path of your rocket again, but now put a dot at the start point, the highest point and end
point. Then draw 2 arrows coming out of the dots to illustrate the direction the cannon was moving.
HINT: LOOK AT YOUR ANSWERS FROM #2 and #3
Projectile motion lecture

Term Definition
Projectile

Vertical
Velocity

Horizontal
Velocity

Range

Height:

Acceleration:
 Perfect Projectile
90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

-10

Using the projectile above, draw the horizontal and vertical vectors going from one dot to the next. Count how long each
of those vectors are and record in the table below.

Horizontal Velocity Vertical Velocity

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1. Looking at the vertical velocity from point 1 to point 3, how does the vertical velocity change? (Bigger, smaller,
change direction, stay the same?)

2. What is the vertical velocity at point 4?

3. Looking at the vertical velocity from point 5 to point 8, how does the vertical velocity change? (Bigger, smaller,
change direction, stay the same?)

4. How is the vertical velocity at point 1 similar the vertical velocity at 8? How is the vertical velocity different at point 1
and point 8?

5. How is the vertical velocity at point 2 similar to vertical velocity at point 7? How is the vertical velocity different?

6. How is the vertical velocity at point 3 similar to the vertical velocity at point 6? How is the vertical velocity different?

7. Summarize the vertical velocities on the left side compare to the vertical velocities on the right side?

8. Looking at the horizontal velocity from point 1 to point 3, how does the horizontal velocity change? (Bigger, smaller,
change direction, stay the same?

9. What is the magnitude of the horizontal velocity at point 4? (Remember: magnitude is the number associated with a
vector)

10. Looking at the horizontal velocity from point 5 to point 8, how does the horizontal velocity change? (Bigger, smaller,
stay the same, change direction?)

11. Summarize the horizontal velocity at the object moves from point 1 to point 8?

12. Fill in the following table. With the following terms increases, decreases, stays the same.
Vertical Poisition Vertical Velocity Horizontal Velocity
Going Up
At Top
Going Down
Name ________________________ Projectile Motion Exit Ticket Period____

1. Which of the following statements is not true of a projectile moving near the surface of the earth (no air
resistance)?
A) The horizontal velocity is constant.
B) The vertical acceleration is constant.
C) The horizontal displacement is directly proportional to the time of flight.
D) The vertical velocity at any given time is independent of the angle of projection.
E) The horizontal acceleration is constant.

2. The figure represents the parabolic trajectory of a ball going from A to E in Earth gravity but without air
resistance. What is the direction of the acceleration at point B?
A) it is up and to the right
B) it is straight down
C) The acceleration of the ball is zero
D) it is straight up

3. The figure represents the parabolic trajectory of a ball going from A to E in Earth gravity but without air
resistance. What is the direction of the acceleration at point C?
A) it is to the right
B) it is straight down
C) The acceleration of the ball is zero
D) it is straight up

4. At point C the velocity of the ball is

A) a minimum and is directed to the right
B) directed to the left
C) zero
D) a maximum

5. What is the speed at point C compared with that at point A?

A) It is greater at C than at A
B) It is less at C than at A
C) The speeds are identical
D) The speeds are both zero