Experiment# 3

Projectile Motion
1) Introduction
The purpose of this experiment is to predict the horizontal range of a projectile shot from various
heights and angles. In addition, students will compare the time of flight for projectiles shot
horizontally at different muzzle velocities. This is really four stand-alone activities except that all
require a measurement of initial speed when the launcher is fired horizontally. This is done in
Procedure 1, but is easy to redo. Doing all four is too long for a 3 hour lab, but Procedure 1 and
2, or Procedure 1 and 3 should work well together. Procedure 1 deals with the independence of
horizontal and vertical motion and are a key idea that should not be skipped. Procedure 4 is short
but requires knowledge of Calculus.
Uncertainty
The launchers work extremely well and with a combination of luck and skill you may see an
accuracy of a centimetre or so over a 3-meter distance. However, small variations in cocking the
launcher may cause the pattern to shift by several centimetres. We use three shot patterns and
average and the results should generally be accurate to within 3 centimetres.
2) Conceptual Objective
Study the projectile motion under the following various conditions and analyze the results
accordingly.
i To determine the muzzle velocity, time of flight and range of the projectile.
ii To determine the predicted range and measured range of projectile at various launching angle
on a plane.
iii To determine the time of flight and experimental range of projectile by changing the various
launching angle from a certain height.
iv To measure the maximum height of a projectile at various launching angle on a plane.
3) Questions to be Prepared before Coming to the Lab
1. Does a ball dropped out of the window of a moving car take longer to reach the ground than
one dropped at the same height from a car at rest?
2. A bullet is fired horizontally from a pistol, and another bullet is dropped simultaneously from
the same height. If air resistance is neglected, which bullet hits the ground first?
3. What affects the path of a projectile?
4) Theory
The horizontal range,Δx, for a projectile can be found using the following equation:
∆𝒙 = 𝒗𝒙 𝒕 (1)
Where vx is the horizontal velocity (the initial horizontal velocity) and t is the time of flight.
To find the time of flight, t, the following kinematic equation is needed:
𝟏
∆𝒚 = 𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝟐 + 𝒗𝒚𝒐 𝒕 (2)
𝟐

WhereΔy is the height, ay = -g is the acceleration due to gravity and vyo is the vertical component
of the initial velocity.
When a projectile is fired horizontally (from a height Δy), the time of flight can be found by
rearranging Equation 2. Since the initial vertical velocity is zero, the last term drops out of the
equation yielding:
∆𝒚
𝒕 = √𝟐 𝒂 (2a)
𝒚

When a projectile is fired at an angle and it lands at the same elevation from which it was
launched,
Δy = 0, and we may solve Equation (2) for t:
𝑽𝒚𝒐
𝒕 = √𝟐 𝒈
(2b)

Substituting this into Equation (1) yields

𝟐𝒗𝒙 𝒗𝒚𝒐 𝟐𝒗𝟐 𝑪𝒐𝒔𝜽𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽
∆𝒙 = = (2c)
𝒈 𝒈

Where v is the initial speed of the projectile.

When a projectile is fired from a height, none of the terms drop out and Equation 2 may be
rearranged as follows:
𝟏
𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝟐 + 𝒗𝒚𝒐 𝒕 − ∆𝒚 = 𝟎 (3)
𝟐
5) The Experiment
Equipment
Mini Launcher, Time of Flight Accessory, Phone Jack Extender Cable, Photogate Head,
Photogate Bracket, Large C Clamp (need one only), Plumb Bob (need one only), Carbon Paper,
Metric Measuring Tape, 850 Universal Interface, PASCO Capstone.
SETUP 1 – Muzzle Velocity, Time of Flight, and Range:
1. Slide the Photogate Bracket into the groove on the bottom of the launcher and tighten the
thumbscrew.
2. Connect two photogates to the bracket (see in Fig. 1). Adjust the Photogate Bracket so the
first photogate is as close to the launcher as possible without blocking the IR beam.
3. Attach the launcher to the launcher stand using the upper holes (see in Fig. 1).
4. Plug the photogate closest to the launcher into Digital Input 1 on the 850 Universal Interface.
Plug the other photogate into Digital Input 2.
5. Plug the Time of Flight Accessory into Digital Input 3.
6. In PASCO Capstone, click on Digital Input 1 in the Hardware Setup and select a photogate.
Then click on Digital Input 2 and select another photogate. Then click on Digital Input 3 and
select a Time-of-Flight Accessory.
7. Open the Timer Setup and select a pre-configured timer for Time-of-Flight with Two
Photogates as shown in figure below:
8. Choose one corner of a table to place the projectile launcher. Make sure a distance of about 3
meters is clear on the floor in the direction the ball will be fired.
9. Clamp the launcher to the corner of the table using a C-clamp (see in Fig. 1).
10. Using the attached plumb bob, adjust the angle of the launcher to 0 o.

Figure 1:Apparatus set-up

Note 1: Measuring angles:
It is critical that you measure the angle carefully. An error of ½ degree will affect your results by
several centimetres. You should be able to read the angles within 0.2 degrees. In Fig. 2, the angle
is 30.0°. In Procedure 1, it is critical that the angle be exactly 0.0°. In Procedures 2 & 3, it is not
critical to exactly set the requested angle as long as you know what the exact angle is. For
example, having 20.7° instead of 20.0° is fine as long as you know it is 20.7° and adjust the
numbers in the table to reflect your actual angles.

Figure 2:Measuring Angles

Procedure 1: Muzzle Velocity, Time of Flight, and Range

Note the circle on the side of the launcher that says “Launch Position of Ball.” This indicates the
position of the ball when it leaves the spring and becomes a free projectile. From where on the
circle should you measure the drop distanceΔy? Hint: what part of the ball strikes the floor? IsΔy
positive or negative? From what part of the circle should you measure Δx? In addition, measure
the spacing between the two photogates and verify that it is 10.0 cm. The program calculates the
initial speed by assuming the photogates are separated by 10.0 cm and dividing by the time the
ball takes to travel between the two gates.
1. Measure the drop distance Δy, to the top of the Time of Flight Accessory.
2. Carefully adjust the launcher to fire horizontally. The protractor should read exactly zero
degrees. You should try to set the angle within 0.2 degrees by making the string equidistant
between the +1 and -1 degree hash marks on the protractor. You will not get good results if
you are not careful when setting the angles. See Note 1.
3. Place the steel ball into the launcher and use the push rod to load the ball until the third
“click” is heard.
4. Check to see that there is no one down range! Launch the ball by pulling straight upward on
the string. Don’t jerk. Observe where the ball hits the floor. Tape a small piece of tape to the
floor to mark the spot. Place the Time of Flight Accessory above the piece of tape so the ball
will strike it.
5. Reload the ball to the third “click” and start recording in Capstone.
6. Pull the launch cord on the launcher. Click the Stop button to stop recording.
7. Create a table to record the Initial Speed and the Time of Flight as shown below. Create
User-Entered data sets called “# Clicks” with no units, “V initial” with units of m/s, and
“Time-ofFlight” with units of seconds.

8. Repeat two more times with the launcher cocked to three clicks.
9. If the launcher is only compressed to two clicks, will the time of flight be more, less, or the
same as for 3 clicks? Explain your logic.
10. Repeat steps 2-8 for 2 clicks and 1 click. Record your results in Table I. Did you answer
correctly in step 9? Why or why not?
11. Using your data and Equation 1, calculate theΔx distance to where the ball should strike the
floor when the launcher is compressed two clicks. Drop a plumb line from the center of the
Launch Position of Ball circle and mark the position with a piece of tape. Measure a distance
equal toΔx along a line between the piece of tape you just put on the floor and the one from
step 4. Tape a piece of white paper to the Time of Flight apparatus and place it at your
predicted impact point. Mark your predicted impact point with an X. Place a piece of carbon
paper on top of the paper (face down). Launch the ball three times using the two click
position. Turn in this paper as part of your lab report!
Part 1 - CONCLUSION:
1. Did the time of flight depend on the initial horizontal speed? What does this imply about the
dependence of the vertical motion on the horizontal motion?
2. Use Equation 2a from the theory to calculate the time of flight.
3. How well does the time of flight calculated from Equation 2a agree with your experimental
values. If they don’t agree, what could explain the difference?
4. How well did your predicted range compare to the actual range? What does this show?
5. How would the horizontal range change if the muzzle velocity was doubled? Explain how
you know.
6. How would the horizontal range change if the height from the ground was doubled? Explain
how you know.
7. How would the horizontal range change if the mass of the ball was doubled? Explain how
you know.
8. What effect are we able to ignore in this experiment? Explain.
Procedure 2: Launching at an Angle on Plane

Figure 3:Launching at an angle on plane

1. Create a table as shown below. Create User-Entered data sets called “Ang” with units of
degrees, “V1” with units of m/s, and “M Range” (Measured Range) with units of meters.
Then create two calculations:
𝒗 = ([𝒗𝟏 ]𝟐 − 𝟐 × 𝒈 × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟑𝟓 × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽]))𝟎.𝟓 (4)
Predicted Range (PRange)
𝟐 × [𝒗]𝟐 × 𝑪𝒐𝒔 ([𝜽]) × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽])
𝑷𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 = (5)
[(𝒈)]

2. If you did Procedure 1, calculate the average initial speed in meters per second for 1-click
horizontal fire. Record the average value in the second column (V1) of Table II. If you are
doing this part of the experiment without doing Procedure 1, you will have to determine the
speed for horizontal fire by performing Procedure 1, steps 3-8. You do not need the Time of
Flight accessory.
3. Clamp the launcher to the edge of a table using a C-clamp so that the ball launches from and
lands at the same elevation (the bottom of the Ball Launch Position circle should be even
with the top of the table (see photos above). Launcher should be as far back as possible on its
track so the front holding screw points directly at the center of the Launch Position circle. In
this manner, the release height will not change when you change the angle.
4. Adjust the launcher for a launch angle of 45o. Using the push rod, push the ball into the
Launcher until the first click is heard. Using the string, pull back on the trigger. Note the
location on the table where the ball lands.
5. Tape a sheet of blank paper at the location where the ball landed. Place carbon paper over the
blank paper.
6. Load the Launcher to the first click again. Launch the ball. Repeat two more times.
7. Use the tape measure to find the horizontal range from the Ball Launch Position circle to the
center of the three shot pattern (just estimate the center of the pattern).
8. Record the value of the horizontal range in meters into the Measured Range (M Range) column
of Table II. If your angle was not exactly 45 o, record the correct angle in the Angle (θ)
column.
9. Repeat the steps 4-8 for 25, 35, 55, 65 degrees.
AnalysisPart 2:Launching at an Angle on Plane
1. The third column in Table II shows the initial speeds (vo) at various angles calculated from
your measured initial horizontal speed. They are smaller because when the gun is tipped up
by an angle (θ), some of the energy from the spring goes into increasing the potential energy
of the system instead of the kinetic energy of the ball. However, since you have probably not
considered energy yet in your physics class, we have calculated the speeds for you. The
formula is:
𝒗𝟐 = (𝒗𝒐 )𝟐 − 𝟐𝒈𝒔𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽
Where v = initial speed, vo= horizontal speed (measured), s= distance spring is compressed
(3.5 cm for 1 click, 4.8 cm for two clicks, and 6.3 cm for three clicks) and θ is the angle of
tip.
2. We now use Equation 3 to calculate the predicted range (PRange).
3. Compare your measured values to the predicted values for the range. Do they agree? Try to
explain any differences.
4. Create a graph of MRange vs. Angle. Then use “Add the similar measurement” to add P Range to
the vertical axis.
5. Plot the graphs between MRange vs. Angle and PRange vs. Angle.
Part 2 - CONCLUSION
1. Are the plots for the Measured Range vs. Angle and the Predicted Range vs. Angle the same?
Apply a quadratic fit to each. Try to explain any difference.
2. Refer to your Range vs. Angle graph. What angle corresponds to the maximum range? Why
isn’t the graph symmetric about 45o?
Procedure 3: Launching at an Angle from a Height

Figure 4: Launching at an Angle from a Height

1. Create a table as shown below. Create User-Entered data sets called “Angle” with units of
degrees, “V3” with units of m/s, and “E Range” (Experimental Range) with units of meters.
Then create calculations:
Corrected velocity (Vcor)
𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 = ([𝒗𝟑 ]𝟐 − 𝟐 × [(𝒈)] × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝟑 × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽]))𝟎.𝟓 (7)
Theoretical Time of Flight (Tflight)
𝟐 𝟎.𝟓
([𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 ] × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽]) + (([𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 ] × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽])) − 𝟐 × [∆𝒚] × [(𝒈)] ) ⁄
𝑻𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 = [(𝒈)] (8)

Theoretical Range (TRange)

𝑻𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 = [𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 ] × 𝑪𝒐𝒔 ([𝜽]) × [𝑻𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ] (9)
2. If you did Procedure 1, calculate the average initial speed in meters per second for 3-click
horizontal fire, V initial. Record the average value in the second column (V3) of Table III. If
you are doing this part of the experiment without doing Procedure 1, you will have to
determine the speed for horizontal fire by performing Procedure 1, steps 3-8 for the 3-click
position. You do not need the Time of Flight accessory.
3. Clamp the launcher to the edge of a table using the C-clamp so that the ball launches from a
position above where it will land (see in Fig. 4). Launcher should be as far back as possible
on its track so the front holding screw points directly at the center of the Launch Position
circle. That way the release height will not change when you change the angle.
4. Adjust the angle of the launcher to -20o.
5. Note the circle on the side of the launcher that says “Launch Position of Ball.” This indicates
the position of the ball when it leaves the spring and becomes a free projectile. From where
on the circle should you measure the drop distanceΔy? Hint: what part of the ball strikes the
floor? IsΔy positive or negative? From what part of the circle should you measureΔx?
Measure the drop distance in meters. Clicks open the Calculator in Capstone and type in the
value forΔy.
6. Drop a plumb line from the Launch Position of Ball circle and mark the position with a piece
of tape. Measure the distanceΔx from this mark for each angle.
7. Using the plunger, push the ball as far as possible into the Launcher. Make sure three clicks
are heard. Using the string, pull back on the trigger. Keep track of the location on the floor
where the ball lands.
8. Tape a sheet of blank paper at this location. Place carbon paper over the blank paper.
9. Load the Launcher. Take 3 shots. MeasureΔx to the center (eyeball it) of the three shot
pattern with the tape measure and record it in the Experimental Range column of Table III on
the Analysis 3 page. If your angle was not exactly 45o, record the correct angle in the Angle
column.
10. Repeat for angle of -10o, 0o, 10o, 20o, 30o, 35o, 40o, 45o, 50o, and 60o.
Analysis 3: Launching at an Angle from a Height
1. See the discussion of why the initial launch speed V3 is different than the horizontal launch
speed under the Analysis 2 section.
2. We now use Equation 2c from Theory to calculate the time of flight. Solve the quadratic
equation for t. Verify that the calculations for T flight(the time of flight) agree with your result.
3. Verify that the calculations for the Theory Range (T Range) agree with Equation 1.
4. Compare your measured values to the predicted values. Do they agree? Try to explain any
differences.
5. Create a graph of TRange vs. Angle. Then use “Add the similar measurement” to add E Rangeto
the vertical axis.
6. Plot the graphs between TRange vs. Angle and ERange vs. Angle.
Part 3 - CONCLUSION
Examine the graph of Experimental Horizontal Range vs. Angle and the Theory Horizontal
Range vs. Angle. How well do the measured results compare to the predictions? What does this
show? Explain any differences.
Procedure 4: Maximum Height of a Projectile
THEORY 4
We now consider the problem of a launcher at a fixed distance from a vertical wall and seek to
find the angle that causes the projectile to strike the wall at a maximum height. In this case,
solving equation 2, gives the time to the wall as;

𝒕 = 𝑹⁄𝒗𝒐𝒙 (10)

Where R is the distance to the wall. Then the height (h) at the wall is given by;
𝟏 𝑹 𝟏 𝑹 𝒗 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝜽 𝟏 𝑹
𝒉 = 𝒗𝒐𝒚 𝒕 − 𝒈𝒕𝟐 = 𝒗𝒐𝒚 𝒗 − 𝟐 𝒈(𝒗 )𝟐 = 𝑹 (𝒗 𝒐𝑪𝒐𝒔𝜽) − 𝒈(𝒗 )𝟐 (11)
𝟐 𝒐𝒙 𝒐𝒙 𝒐 𝟐 𝒐 𝑪𝒐𝒔𝜽

𝒈𝑹𝟐
( ⁄ 𝟐)
𝟐𝒗𝒐
𝒉 = 𝑹𝑻𝒂𝒏𝜽 − (12)
𝑪𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝜽
Use calculus to find the angle (call it “max angle”) that maximizes the height.

Figure 5: Maximum Height of a Projectile

Set-up 4: Maximum Height of a Projectile
1. Clamp the launcher to the edge of a table using the C Clamp about 1.5 meters from a vertical
wall (see in Fig. 5). Launcher should be as far back as possible on its track so the front
holding screw points directly at the center of the Launch Position circle. That way the release
height will not change when you change the angle.
Procedure 4:Maximum Height of a Projectile
1. Measure the distance from the Launch Position circle (what portion of the circle should you
use?) to the wall. Record this value.
2. You will need to measure the horizontal speed for the two-click position if you don’t already
have it.
𝒗𝜽 = ([𝒗𝟐 ]𝟐 − 𝟐 × [𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 (𝒈)] × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟖 × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝜽))𝟎.𝟓
Use the expression that you derived in the theory to calculate the theoretical velocity at an
angle that gives the maximum height.
3. Adjust the launcher to the theoretical angle for maximum height. Using the push rod, push
the ball into the Launcher until the second click is heard. Using the string, pull back on the
trigger. Note the location on the wall where the ball strikes.
4. Tape a sheet of blank paper at the location where the ball struck. The location where the ball
hit should be near the top of the paper. Tape carbon paper over the blank paper.
5. Set the mini launcher at 60o and fire one shot at the wall. Circle the pattern and label each
spot “max”. Leave the paper in place.
6. Measure the height from surface to hitting spot using meter scale.
7. Repeat for angle of 25o, 30o, 35o, 45o, 50o, 55o and 60o.
Analysis 4: Maximum Height of a Projectile
Briefly discuss your results.
 National University of Technology
(NUTECH)
Initial Lab Report
Course: PHY1106 Applied Physics Lab
Batch: Fall 2021
Department: Mechanical Engineering

Initial Lab Report

Experiment No. 3 Date:

Experiment Title:

Name: _______________________________

NUTECH ID: _________________________

Instructor: ____________________________

Signature (Instructor):

1. Experiment Objectives:

2. Basic Equations of Experiment Theory:

3. Observations and Calculations:
Part 3: Launching an Angle from Height
Corrected velocity (Vcor)
𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 = ([𝒗𝟑 ]𝟐 − 𝟐 × [(𝒈)] × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝟑 × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽]))𝟎.𝟓
Theoretical Time of Flight (Tflight)
𝟐 𝟎.𝟓
([𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 ] × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽]) + (([𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 ] × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 ([𝜽])) − 𝟐 × [∆𝒚] × [(𝒈)] ) ⁄
𝑻𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 = [(𝒈)]
Theoretical Range (TRange)
𝑻𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 = [𝒗𝒄𝒐𝒓 ] × 𝑪𝒐𝒔 ([𝜽]) × [𝑻𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ]
Table 3: The values of initial velocity, corrected velocity, time of flight, theoretical range, and
measured range of the projectile at various degrees from a certain height (Δy = 1m) using
3rdclick of mini launcher, respectively.
Angle V3 (m/s) VCor (m/s) Time of flight (s) TRange(m) ERange(m)

-20o
-10 o

0o

10o
20o
30o

35o
45o
50o
60o

Average of VInitial = m/s; Average of Erange = m

Average of Trange = m
|𝑬𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 − 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 |
% 𝑬𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆
Error = %
Plot the graphs between TRange vs. Angle and ERange vs. Angle.
Part 4: Maximum Height of the Projectile

𝒗𝜽 = √(𝒗𝟐 )𝟐 − 𝟐 × 𝒈 × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟖 × 𝑺𝒊𝒏 (𝜽)

Table 4: The values of initial velocity, calculated velocity, and maximum height of the projectile
at various angles on a plane (Δy = 1m) using 2ndclick of mini launcher, respectively.
Θ V2 (m/sec) Vθ (m/sec) Maximum Height (m)

25o
30o
35o

45o
50o
55o
60o

Average of Vθ = m/s
4. Results and Analysis:
 Final Lab Report

Title Page
The title page of your Lab report should include the following information:
a) NUTECH Logo
b) No. and Name of the Experiment
c) Submitted To: Name of the Instructor
d) Submitted By: Individual Member Name with respective registration No.s
e) Date of Experiment Performed

1. Objective:
Objective of the practical will be explained in this section. For example, this practical is used to determine
different types of strength.
2. Apparatus:
Write the name of the apparatus used in the experiment.
3. Theoretical Explanation:
Explain the theory behind the practical or experiment. It can include ideal diagrams used in theory and
graphs etc.
4. Explanation of Procedure:
Pre explanation of the practical
5. Observations and Calculations:
The Calculation and observation during the experiment which includes reading and noting down the
measurements, draw concerned tables shown in the demonstration and class lecture.
6. Results and Analysis:
In this portion, you will describe what is achieved during experiment. Analyze and discuss the practical.
Use graphical representation if any. All calculation using formulas and demonstration of graphical portion
of the practical should be explained in this section.
7. Precautions:
Note the necessary precautions of respective practical.
8. Comments:
a) Comments about the result.
b) Whether we have achieved the desire result or not. Deduction of the practical.
c) Conclusion of the practical.