P​rojectile Motion Lab Report

Objective
To apply concepts from two-dimensional kinematics to predict the impact point of a
ball in projectile motion.

Introduction
You have probably watched a ball roll off a table and strike the floor. What
determines where it will land? Could you predict where it will land? In this experiment, we
will use a projectile launcher to fire a ball horizontally at different angles. We will use this
information and our knowledge of physics to predict where the ball will land when it hits the
floor.

Materials:
- Projectile Launcher with inbuilt angle adjustment
- Metal Ball
- Metal Ball Stopper
- Air pump (fixed to 70 PIS)
- Carbon tape
- Measuring Tape
- Safety Goggles

Procedure / Setup
1. Safety glasses must be worn all the time during this experiment.
2. Set the Metal ball Stopper to prevent the metal to go out when experimenting
3. Tape the Carbon tape down on the table align with the projectile launcher.
4. Check that the Projectile launcher adjusted at the correct angle.
5. Put the metal ball inside the Projectile Launcher.
6. Apply 70 psi of pressure to the Projectile Launcher with the air pump.
7. Launch the ball from the Projectile Launcher
8. Record the distance of the metal ball from the first drop.
9. Launch the metal ball with the projectile launcher set at the same angle for three
times.
10. Once launched three times, adjust the Projectile Launcher to add five more degrees
and repeat until reached 60 degrees.
 Experimental Data & Calculations

Data table:

Distance (cm) Distance (m)

Angle (Deg) Trail 1 Trail 2 Trail 3 Average (cm) Average (m)
30 137.2 136.6 137.2 137 1.37
35 155.6 152.2 156.2 155 1.55
40 164.2 164.2 166.8 165 1.65
45 170.8 171.7 170.4 171 1.71
50 170 173 170.8 171 1.71
55 154 164 166.6 162 1.62
60 155.4 157.2 158 157 1.57

Formula used:
2u sin(θ)
- T = g (Used to find the time of flight of the projectile)
2
u sin (2θ)
- R= g (Used to find the distance covered by the projectile)
u2 sin2 (θ)
- H= 2g (Used to find the maximum height of the projectile)
2
- g = 9.8m/s (Gravity)
Calculations:
To find the initial launch velocity of the projectile (u) , we will be using the formula
2
R = u sin (2θ) because we already have both the distance the projectile traveled (R) and the
g
launch angle (θ)
- Example calculation (30 degrees):
u2 sin (2θ)
- R = g
R•g
u2 = sin (2θ)

√
g•R
u = sin (2θ)

√
(9.8) • (1.37)
u = sin (2 • 30)

u =
√ 13.426
0.8660
u = 0.3973

Angle (Deg) Average (m) Initial launch velocity (m/s)

30 1.37 3.937
35 1.55 4.021
40 1.65 4.052
45 1.71 4.094
50 1.71 4.125
55 1.62 4.110
60 1.57 4.215
 Now that we know the initial velocity of the projectile, we can find the maximum
u2 sin2 (θ)
height of the projectile trajectory. Using the equation H = 2g
, we can substitute in the
value for u, θ and g .

- Example calculation (30 degrees):

u2 sin2 (θ)
- H = 2g
2
4 sin2 (30)
H = 2(9.8)
16 • 0.25
H = 19.6
H = 0.2040

Angle (Deg) Initial launch velocity (m/s) Maxheight (m)

30 4 0.2040
35 4 0.2685
40 4 0.3372
45 4 0.4081
50 4 0.4790
55 4 0.5477
60 4 0.6122

Lastly we will find the time of flight of the projectile or the amount of time the
2u sin (θ)
projectile will take before landing. This time we will use the equation T = g
. Like
before, since we already have the value of all the variables we can calculate the time as well.

- Example calculation (30 degrees):

 2u sin (θ)
T = g
2(4) • sin (30)
T = 9.8
8 • 0.5
T = 9.8
T = 0.4081

Angle (Deg) Initial launch velocity (m/s) Time of flight (s)

30 4 0.4081
35 4 0.4682
40 4 0.5247
45 4 0.5772
50 4 0.6253
55 4 0.6686
60 4 0.7069

Analysis of Results

We used the formula to find the distance covered by the projectile to reverse find the
initial velocity of the projectile at launch. By repeating the calculation for every parameter we
gathered, we can further predict what the initial velocity was since the air pressure is always
at 70 PIS. With all calculations we did for each of the parameters, we find that the initial
velocity for the projectile is around 4.00m/s.
 We cannot determine the exact initial velocity because the pump cannot give out an
exact same force every single time we launch. This is confirmed by the fact that we got a
variety of initial velocity values that are close to each other. As well as not being able to exert
the same force every time, the position of the projectile in the launcher could also affect the
initial velocity. As the closer the projectile is to the valve releasing the pressure, the more
force the pressure can release.
Now knowing the initial velocity, we can go and find other important details of the
trajectories. From the calculation of the maximum height of the projectile, we can see a clear
trend. The maximum height increases as the angle of launch increases. This pattern would
follow an absolute sine curve which indicates that if you go past 90 degrees, the maximum
height of the projectile will start to decrease. If you go even further, past 180 degrees, there
will be no maximum height.

Like for the max height the trend for the flight time of the projectile is the same. If
you think about it, it makes sense of the time to increase as the height increases.

From all the data and calculations, we can say that we can the most important part for
predicting the path of a projectile is the angle and initial velocity of launch. All of our
calculations and predictions are based on these two parameters.
We created a projectile trajectory graph which shows us the flight trajectory of our
projectile from the data we gathered.
We also used the graph y = − 4.9( u • cos x
(θ)
)2 + x tan (θ) the 4.00m/s initial launch
velocity, we can predict the expected trajectory of each of the projectile at different angles.

Data:
Calculated:

As you can see our actual projectile path is very similar to the calculated path with a
little deviation. But there are still some errors. For example, the theoretical best angle for
launch is 45 degrees, of which you will get the furthest distance. But for us, 50 degrees got us
the same distance as 45 degrees.
 Conclusions
From the experiment, this lab allowed us to examine projectile motion by determining
the angle of launch and predict the range of projectile. In conclusion, the distance of the ball
is increased as the angle of launch is increased until 60​°.​ ​However,​ the ​maximum height and
time of flights depends on the angle of launch. As the angle of launch is increased, the
maximum height and time are increased too.

Recommendations
If we have a chance to do this lab again, we would measure the distance more
precisely. From doing the experiment, we noticed that a little change in position of the
Projectile Launcher will affect the result of the experiment. That might cause some error in
the data, so we will be careful not to move the Projectile Launcher. Also, this lab is quite
dangerous, everyone should be aware of what is going on at all times and wear safety
equipment.

Dr. Sreenivasulu Tadakaluru