Khan’s 1

Motion in a plane PHYSICS The projectile’s speed (the magnitude of its velocity) at any time is
9811194916
Projectile motion 𝑣 = √𝑣𝑥2 + 𝑣𝑦2
A projectile is an object launched into the space and allowed to move free
under the influence of gravity and air resistance. A kicked ball, a fired The direction of the velocity, in terms of the angle 𝛼 it makes with the
positive x-direction is
bullet, a thrown arrow or a box dropped from an airplane are all projectiles.
𝑣𝑦
The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory. tan 𝛼 =
𝑣𝑥
For our purpose we will use an idealized model with the following
The velocity vector 𝑣⃗ is tangent to the trajectory at each point.
assumptions –
We can derive an equation for the trajectory’s shape in terms of x and y.
► There is no air resistance.
► The maximum height of the projectile is much less than the 𝑣𝑦 = 0
radius of the earth so that any change in magnitude and 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑢𝑥
𝑦
direction of acceleration due to gravity can be neglected. 𝑣𝑦 𝑣⃗
𝑣⃗
► The curvature and rotation of earth is ignored.
► The projectile is a particle.
𝛼 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑢𝑥
 𝐻
𝑢
⃗⃗ 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑢𝑥 𝑣𝑦 −𝛼
Projectile motion is always confined to a vertical plane determined by the

𝑢𝑦 = 𝑢 sin 𝜃
direction of the initial velocity. This is because the acceleration due to 𝑎𝑦 = −𝑔 𝑣⃗
gravity is purely vertical; gravity can’t accelerate the projectile sideways.
Thus projectile motion is two-dimensional. 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑢𝑥
𝜃
We will call the plane of motion the xy-plane, with the x-axis horizontal, the 𝑥
𝑂 𝑢𝑥 = 𝑢 cos 𝜃 −𝜃
y-axis vertically upwards and the point of projection at the origin. 𝑅

𝑣𝑦 = −𝑢𝑦
Because gravity does not act in horizontal direction, we can analyse
projectile motion as a combination of horizontal motion with constant
velocity and vertical motion with constant acceleration. The two motions
𝑢
are independent of each other.
The following analysis is for an oblique or inclined projectile thrown
from the ground.
Equation of trajectory: Let the coordinates of the projectile at time 𝑡
be (𝑥, 𝑦).
Consider horizontal motion.
𝑥 = 𝑢𝑥 𝑡 = (𝑢 cos 𝜃)𝑡 (3)
Consider vertical motion.
1 1
𝑦 = 𝑢𝑦 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2 = (𝑢 sin 𝜃)𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2 (4)
2 2
Eliminate 𝑡 from equation (3) and (4) to get the relation between 𝑥 and𝑦.
𝑥
From equation (3), 𝑡 = (𝑢 . Put this in equation (4) to get
cos 𝜃)
𝑥 1 𝑥 2
𝑦 = (𝑢 sin 𝜃) − 𝑔( )
(𝑢 cos 𝜃) 2 (𝑢 cos 𝜃)
𝒈
𝑂𝑟, 𝒚 = (𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝜽)𝒙 − 𝟐 𝒙𝟐 (5)
𝟐𝒖 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝟐 𝜽
We can now express all the vector relationships for the projectile’s
position, velocity, and acceleration by separate equations for the Don’t worry about the details of this equation; the important point is its
horizontal and vertical components (See diagram on the right). The general form. Since 𝑢, tan 𝜃, cos 𝜃 and g are constants, Eq. (5) has
components of acceleration 𝑎⃗ (= −𝑔𝑗̂) are the form
𝑦 = 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐𝑥 2
𝑎𝑥 = 0, 𝑎𝑦 = −𝑔
where b and c are constants. This is the equation of a parabola. The
The components of initial velocity 𝑢
⃗⃗ are trajectory of our projectile is always a parabola.
𝑢𝑥 = 𝑢 cos 𝜃 , 𝑢𝑦 = 𝑢 sin 𝜃 Time of flight (T): Time taken by a projectile to cover its entire
If we choose initial position at the origin, we have position of the particle trajectory is called the time of flight.
at time 𝑡 as Let us find the time (𝑡𝑚 ), the projectile takes to reach the maximum
height. Consider the vertical motion.
𝑥 = 𝑢𝑥 𝑡 = (𝑢 cos 𝜃)𝑡
1 1 𝑣𝑦 = 𝑢𝑦 − 𝑔𝑡
𝑦 = 𝑢𝑦 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2 = (𝑢 sin 𝜃)𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2 (1) Since at maximum height 𝑣𝑦 = 0, we have
2 2
The component of velocity 𝑣⃗ at time t are 0 = 𝑢 sin 𝜃 − 𝑔𝑡𝑚
𝑣𝑥 = 𝑢𝑥 = 𝑢 cos 𝜃 (No acceleration in this direction) 𝑢 sin 𝜃
⟹ 𝑡𝑚 = (6)
𝑣𝑦 = 𝑢𝑦 − 𝑔𝑡 = 𝑢 sin 𝜃 − 𝑔𝑡 (2) 𝑔
Due to symmetry of the path, the time of flight 𝑇 is twice of 𝑡𝑚 . Thus
We can get a lot of information from equation (1) and (2). For example,
the distance 𝑟 from the origin to the projectile at any time t is 𝟐𝒖 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽
𝑻= (𝟕)
𝒈
𝑟 = √𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2
 Khan’s 2
PHYSICS
9811194916 The above fact is also stated in other words — for elevations which
1 exceed or fall short of 𝟒𝟓° by equal amounts, the ranges are equal.
Time of flight can also be obtained from 𝑦 = 𝑦0 + 𝑢𝑦 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 . Notice
2
2
𝑢2 sin 2(45° + 𝛼) 𝑢2 sin(90° + 2𝛼) 𝑢2 cos 2𝛼
that at 𝑡 = 𝑇, 𝑦 = 𝑦0 = 0. Thus 𝑅(45°+𝛼) = = =
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔
1 2𝑢 sin 𝜃
0 = 0 + (𝑢 sin 𝜃)𝑇 − 𝑔𝑇 2 ⟹ 𝑇 = 𝑢2 sin 2(45° − 𝛼) 𝑢2 sin(90° − 2𝛼) 𝑢2 cos 2𝛼
2 𝑔 𝑅(45°−𝛼) = = =
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔
Maximum height (H): Consider the vertical motion. We have the The above results tell that 𝑹(𝟒𝟓°+𝜶) = 𝑹(𝟒𝟓°−𝜶)
kinematic equation
𝑣𝑦2 = 𝑢𝑦2 − 2𝑔ℎ
CAUTION: The above expressions are applicable only in the special
With 𝑣𝑦 = 0 and ℎ = 𝐻 at highest point, the above equation becomes circumstances when launch and landing heights are equal. There are many other
0 = 𝑢2 sin2 𝜃 − 2𝑔𝐻 problems to which these equations do not apply. I

𝒖𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝟐 𝜽
𝑂𝑟, 𝑯= (8)
𝟐𝒈
The expression for the maximum height can also be found with the help
of equation (1) which is reproduced here.
1
𝑦 = 𝑢𝑦 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2
2
𝑢 sin 𝜃
At maximum height, 𝑦 = 𝐻 and 𝑡 = 𝑡𝑚 = (from equation (6)).
𝑔
With this, the above equation becomes
𝑢 sin 𝜃 1 𝑢 sin 𝜃 2
𝐻 = 𝑢 sin 𝜃 . − 𝑔( )
𝑔 2 𝑔
𝑢2 sin2 𝜃
𝑂𝑟, 𝐻=
2𝑔
For a given launch speed 𝑢, the maximum value of 𝐻 occurs for
sin 𝜃 = 1 and 𝜃 = 90° — that is, when the projectile is launched straight
up.

Horizontal range (R): The horizontal range 𝑅 is the value of 𝑥 at

𝑡 = 𝑇. Thus
2𝑢 sin 𝜃 𝑢2 (2 sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃)
𝑅 = 𝑢𝑥 𝑇 = (𝑢 cos 𝜃). ( )=
𝑔 𝑔

𝒖𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝜽
𝑂𝑟, 𝑹= (9)
𝒈
The formula for the horizontal range can also be obtained from the
equation of trajectory by noticing that at 𝑦 = 0, 𝑥 = 𝑅.
Here is the equation of trajectory.
𝑔
𝑦 = (tan 𝜃)𝑥 − 2 𝑥2
2𝑢 cos 2 𝜃
sin 𝜃 𝑔
0= 𝑅− 2 𝑅2
cos 𝜃 2𝑢 cos 2 𝜃
The root of this equation other than zero yields the same result, i.e.
𝑢2 sin 2𝜃
𝑅=
𝑔
The maximum value of sin 2𝜃 is 1; this occurs when 2𝜃 = 90°, or 𝜃 =
45°. This angle gives the maximum range for a given initial speed if air
resistance can be ignored.

The maximum range 𝑅𝑚𝑎𝑥 is then

𝒖𝟐
𝑹𝒎𝒂𝒙 = (10)
𝒈
The formula for the range (equation 9) also tells that the horizontal ranges
are equal for angles of projection 𝜽, and (𝟗𝟎° − 𝜽).

𝑢2 sin 2(90° − 𝜃) 𝑢2 sin(180° − 2𝜃) 𝑢2 sin 2𝜃

𝑅(90°−𝜃) = = = = 𝑅𝜃
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔