Projectile Motion

Anamay Singh & Amal Kamran

February 16, 2024

1 Introduction
Projectile motion is a integral aspect of physics that has widespread application in a variety
of fields. Understanding the principles governing the trajectory of a projectile is crucial for
predicting its behavior and optimizing launch parameters of a projectile. In this experiment,
we explore the relationship between theoretical predictions and experimental outcomes in
projectile motion. The motivation behind this investigation lies in the practical implications
of accurately calibrating projectile launchers for real-world applications of their range.
Projectile motion is expressed by kinematic equations, as discussed in our lectures. The-
oretical models predict that the path of a projectile follows a parabolic trajectory, depending
on the initial velocity, launch angle, and initial height. By conducting experiments with a
projectile launcher, our goal is to compare the theoretical expectations with actual perfor-
mance, thereby clarifying our understanding of the factors that influence projectile motion.
The scientific question at the core of this experiment is whether the theoretical predictions
align with experimental results in determining the range of the projectile. Specifically, it
was to test the accuracy of theoretical models and investigate the impact of varying launch
angles on the predicted and measured ranges. Through experimentation and data analysis,
we aim to draw conclusions about the precision of theoretical predictions in the context of
projectile motion.
The expectations for the outcome of the lab were as follows: The continuous change
in angle of the launcher would have a significant effect on the range. The furthest range
would likely be seen at 45◦ , as projectiles tend to go furthest at said angle. Lastly, while the
theoretical and experimental ranges will align closely, they will not align flawlessly, as the
equation to calculate range does not incorporate air resistance.

2 Methods
In this experiment we first found the initial velocity of a projectile, then uses said data to
find the predicted range of the projectile as a function of different angles, and then finally
found the actual range of the projectile through experimentation via a projectile launcher.
From this data it was possible to compare the predicted range of the projectile to the actual
range.

1
Part 1: Determining the initial velocity

The initial velocity for a projectile can be found by using the range function and solving for
vo

s
2h
R = V0 (1)
g

wherein R is the range of projectile that is shot, h is the height of the projectile launcher
from the ground, and g is gravity.

To determine the initial velocity, vo of the projectile, the elevation angle of the projectile
launcher was set to 0◦ and the height h of the projectile launcher (which was situated on a
table) from the floor was measured. The projectile was then shot a approximately 25 times to
determine the general area of its landing position. Once this landing position was determined,
a carbon paper was placed on top of a sheet of paper in said position. The projectile was
then shot from the projectile launcher 25 times. Each time the ball was launched, it landed
on the carbon paper which made an imprint on the sheet of paper beneath it. Once 25
shots were done, we measured the distance from the projectile launcher to each of the points
on the paper in the x-direction. Calculating the average distance of these landing positions
yielded the mean range, R.

2
 Trial at 0◦ Range (m)
1 1.378
2 1.399
3 1.456
4 1.470
5 1.470
6 1.474
7 1.476
8 1.480
9 1.484
10 1.485
11 1.486
12 1.487
13 1.486
14 1.488
15 1.490
16 1.491
17 1.491
18 1.494
19 1.493
20 1.495
21 1.500
22 1.500
23 1.497
24 1.500
25 1.503

Table 1: 25 Distances at 0◦ for initial velocity

This data was then used to calculate the average velocity by plugging the mean distance
value into Equation (1). The resultant v0 value was then used in Part 3 to determine the
theoretical range of the projectile at various angles.

3
Part 2: Determining the Actual Range as a Function of Firing
Angle

To find the actual range of the projectile, we used the projectile launcher situated on a table
and shot a ball a total of 5 times for the following angles: 15◦ , 30◦ , 40◦ , 45◦ , 60◦ , 75◦ . The
distance in the horizontal plane from the projectile launcher to the landing point of each of
the shots are noted down in the following table.

Trial 15◦ 30◦ 40◦ 45◦ 60◦ 75◦

1 1.717m 1.788m 1.815m 1.682m 1.330m 0.744m
2 1.718m 1.795m 1.829m 1.708m 1.371m 0.771m
3 1.728m 1.818m 1.832m 1.716m 1.404m 0.781m
4 1.722m 1.819m 1.837m 1.718m 1.428m 0.781m
5 1.729m 1.820m 1.838m 1.722m 1.430m 0.783m

Table 2: Actual Ranges Based on Different Angles

This data was procured by placing a carbon paper on top of a sheet of paper in the
target array. Each time the ball was launched, it landed on the carbon paper which made
an imprint on the sheet of paper beneath it. Once 5 shots were made for each angle, the
distance from the projectile launcher to each of the points on the paper in the x-direction
was measured which yielded us 5 range data points for each angle. This process was repeated
for each given angle.

Part 3: Predicted Range

The (predicted) range of the projectile launched from a projectile launcher refers to the
change in the x direction (deemed to be the horizontal axis) from the original position of
the launcher to the final position of the projectile. This range can be predicted using the
following formula

 p 
2
V0 cos θ V0 sin θ + (V0 sin θ) + 2gh
R= (2)
g

wherein R signifies the range, θ is the angle of the projectile at launch, V0 is the mean
initial velocity of the projectile , and h is the the vertical distance (deemed our y axis) at
where the projectile was launched. This predicted range was calculated for each of the angles
mentioned previously by inputting the values for all these variables into this equation.

After finding average range, the maximum and minimum ranges for different launch angles
were found by inputting the mean initial velocity used to calculate the average range, along

4
with its associated uncertainty. To calculate this uncertainty in the mean initial velocity,
the error propagation formula was used which is derived as follows.

Given:
q
2h
Range = R = V0 g

Solve for V0 in terms of R, g, and h from the range equation.

pg
Initial Velocity = V0 = R 2h
dR dh
Using the chain rule, differentiate V0 with respect to R and h to find dv0
and dv0
q
ev0 = (eR ∗ dv dR
) + (e2h ∗ dv
0 2
dH
0 2
)
dR dh
Substitute expressions for dv 0
and dv 0
q p
g 2 −1
) + e2h [R g2 ∗ dHd
p
ev0 = e2R ( 2h (H 2 )]2

Simplify further by evaluating the derivative and rearranging terms.

q p
g 2 −3
) + e2h [R g2 ∗ (− 12 H 2 ]
p
ev0 = e2R ( 2h
q p
g 2
) + e2h [R2 g2 ∗ 14 ∗ 1
p
ev0 = e2R ( 2h H3
]

Finally, combining the terms, the error in velocity is obtained as a function of the error
in height and error in range.

s  2 
 g  R g
ev0 = e2R + e2h (3)
2H 8H 3

The error in height is 0.001 meters as the horizontal measurement was executed with a
meter stick. The error in range is determined by initially computing the mean of the 25 range
values in table 1. Subsequently, the standard deviation of the mean is calculated. Finally,
this standard deviation is incorporated into the equation for the standard error (SE), wherein
N represents the number of times the projectile was fired. The standard error equation is as
follows.

δ
SE = √ (4)
n

With the mean initial velocity and it’s standard error, Equation (2) was used again to
find the maximum and minimum predicted ranges for each angle.

5
Part 4: Finalizing and Plotting

After the minimum, mean, and maximum predicted ranges were obtained, the minimum,
mean, and maximum for the actual ranges were subsequently found found from Table (2).

Lastly, this data was then plotted generating a visual that was used to compare the
predicted and actual range values.

3 Data Analysis

The mean range for the 25 range values used to calculate the mean of the ranges was 1.478m.
This value was calculated by finding sum of all the trial values and dividing it by the number
of trials executed.

37.2271
Mrange = = 1.478 m
25

This value was then plugged into Equation (1) which was rearranged to solve for V0 .

s
2 ∗ 1.077m m
V0 = 1.478m m = 3.153
9.8 s2 s

Next the error in the initial velocity was calculated. This was used to calculate the
minimum and maximum predicted ranges with the use of Equation (2). The error in velocity
was dependent on two unknown factors, the error in the range and the error in the height.
Since the measurement of the height of the projectile was done with a meter stick, its error
was 0.001m. The error in the range was calculated by taking the mean initial velocity and
calculating its standard deviation (δ). This output a standard deviation value of 0.02m. The
standard deviation was then plugged into the Equation (4) which gave the standard error
for range.

0.02m
SE = √ = 0.0059m
25

Once the standard error for the height (eH ) and the standard error for the range (er )
were found, equation (3) was utilized to solve for the error in initial velocity.

s    
9.8 (1.478)2 ∗ 9.8
ev0 = (0.0059)2 + 0.0012
2 ∗ 1.077 8(1.077)3

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 This gave us an standard error for the initial velocity, of 0.01m/s.

The predicted range values were then calculated using Equation (2) considering the error
in initial velocity. The minimum and maximum predicted ranges represent the range of
possibilities due to the uncertainties. The uncertainties in the predicted ranges come from
the variability of the standard error in the initial velocity. The values calculated with said
equation are shown in Table (4).

Angle (deg) 15 30 40 45 60 75
Max Range (m) 1.70424 1.79311 1.73755 1.66939 1.29931 0.71276
Avg Range (m) 1.70417 1.79304 1.73747 1.66932 1.29924 0.71272
Min Range (m) 1.70411 1.79296 1.73739 1.66924 1.29918 0.71269

Table 3: Predicted Ranges at Different Angles

The average experimental range (Ravg ), minimum experimental range (Rmin ), and max-
imum experimental range ( Rmax ) for each firing angle were calculated by taking the mean,
minimum, and maximum, respectively, of the recorded values obtained from Table (2). These
values are shown in Table (4) below.

Angle (deg) 15 30 40 45 60 75
Max Range (m) 1.7295 1.8201 1.8382 1.7221 1.4305 0.7831
Mean Range (m) 1.72154 1.80842 1.83074 1.70954 1.3931 0.77226
Min Range (m) 1.7175 1.7885 1.8157 1.6825 1.3305 0.7441

Table 4: Actual Range at Different Angles

The uncertainties in the experimental ranges come from measurement errors, variations
in launch conditions, and other potential sources of uncertainty. These uncertainties were
propagated into the average, minimum, and maximum values to provide a comprehensive
understanding of the experimental results.

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 Figure 1: Comparison of the predicted and experimental ranges

4 Discussion

To recap, our initial scientific question was to see how the theoretical predictions of a pro-
jectiles landing distance compares to the actual distance of projectile. Through the course
of this experiment, we used several techniques to calculate these two distances and now we
can finally analyze the results located in Figure (1).

An analysis of the predicted range and the actual range from Figure (1) shows that they
seem to be closely aligned for the first few angles, but later on as the angles increase, the
discrepancy between the two ranges grew as well.

There could be several reasons for this variation. One plausible reason could be that air
resistance was not accounted for in the range equation. This could have caused the predicted
range to be lesser than the actual range. Another reason for the difference in the ranges
could be due to the launcher itself moving due to the recoil from the projectile launch. This
might have had two effects: one, that it changes the starting position of the projectile, and
two, it could have changed the angle the projectile was set at. These two changes could have
had significant impacts on the results of our experiment.

In analyzing the data, another notable finding emerged regarding the launch angle that
yielded the farthest range. Contrary to the intuitive understanding that a 45◦ launch angle

8
would yield the farthest range, we found that setting the launcher at 40◦ would do the job
best.

We realized that the 45◦ launch angle is only the best angle to shoot from if the starting
point is the same as the landing point. However, since the starting point of the projectile
was situated on a table of considerable height, it made sense that the 40◦ was the best launch
angle to shot at as this adjustment allowed the projectile to compromise a little on the y-
velocity, whilst favoring an increase in x-velocity, effectively accounting for the additional
height in the experimental setup.

One of the main improvements to be made if we were to this experiment again, would be
to make sure that the launcher did not change its horizontal or vertical angles between trials.
This could be done by placing a heavy object to the sides of the launcher to guarantee no
movement and to check the vertical launcher angle between each trial to confirm that it is
at the correct angle. Additionally, in the future, it would be optimal to run this experiment
in an area with no significant air resistance.

Through both our calculated and experimental data values, it was possible to conclude
that the launch angle of a projectile consistently determines its range. This aligns with the
current scientific theory that a projectile will follow a specific, predictable trajectory given
a known initial velocity and launch angle. The only discrepancy faced can be seen in Fig 1
, where the first few angles had theoretical and experimental values that aligned, but began
to diverge from each other at greater angles. This can be a concluded to be an outcome
of launcher error and air resistance, not as a challenge to the scientific theory of projectile
motion.

Section Primary Author Primary Editor

Introduction Anamay Singh Amal Kamran
Methods Anamay Singh Amal Kamran
Data Analysis Anamay Singh Amal Kamran
Discussion Amal Kamran Anamay Singh

Table 5: Breakdown of Report Writing