UNIT4

Module 1

Projectile Motion

Shirley R. Cortez
Lezo Integrated School
[Pick the date]
 OVERVIEW

Do you want to be another Keiffer Ravena, Japeth Aguilar, Terrence

Romeo and Calvin Abueva of the Gilas Pilipinas basketball players? How?
Practice makes perfect. But knowledge of projectile motion will definitely
improve your shooting ability.

This lesson informs a type of motion in two-dimensions using projectile

motion. The core is giving the idea that two-dimension motions can be described
and predicted using kinematics and dynamics. It also defines true projectiles that
follow a parabolic path due to the downward pull of gravity only. There will be
activities to show that the uniform horizontal motion (non-accelerated) is
independent from the non-uniform(uniformly accelerated vertical motion.

EXPLORE!

Try to release one ball (ball A) from rest, at the same time you throw
another ball (ball B), which you release with an initial velocity that is directed
entirely horizontally. You release both balls simultaneously from the same height h
above level ground. Neglect air resistance.

Q 1 - Which ball travels a greater distance before hitting the ground?

Q 2 - Which ball reaches the ground first? Why?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this module, you would be able to:

 Describe the horizontal and vertical motions of a projectile.

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 NAVIGATE!

Many of you join and play sports events that involve flying objects or balls.
Have you noticed the curved paths these objects made in mid-air? This
curve is what naturally happens when an object called a projectile, moves in
two dimensions – having both horizontal and vertical motion components, acted
by gravity only. In Physics, this is called projectile motion.
A projectile is any object that is thrown by some means and continues in
motion by its own inertia. Looking dimensionally into its motion, you will see that
projectile motion has both vertical and horizontal components. The vertical
component is just like the situation of a freefall, where the body is acted on by
the earth’s gravity. The horizontal component of a projectile is just like the motion
of a body moving freely on a horizontal surface, where the retarding force can
be ignored. In dealing with projectile problems, you may employ Galileo’s
equations regarding freefall.
When you try to shoot a ball in a free throw, you will notice that the
motion of the ball follows a certain path. The path traveled is known as the
trajectory of the projectile. The trajectory, as you can see, is parabolic. Did you
know that it took some time for the projectile’s path to finally come to a certain
description?

FIGURE 1. Knowledge of projectile motion helps improve one’s shooting ability.

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 When in projectile motion, objects follow a curved trajectpry which is
parabolic. The initial launch force gives a projectile the needed initial velocity at
any angle. This initial force no longer acts on the projectile. Only the force of
gravity remains acting on the projectile. Thus, as the projectile moves horizontally
at a constant rate, it accelerates toward the earth’s center at 9.8 m/s2, thus the
curved path.

Always remember that:

 The launch force does not keep on acting on the object after it was
thrown.
 The projectile does not maintain its motion due to the acquired launch
force.
 At the top of the projectile’s flight, there is a gravity, that’s why projectiles
start to fall.

INVESTIGATE

In the following activities, you will investigate more on the motion of

projectiles and not on the forces acting on it in real environment.

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 Problem:
How do the vertical and horizontal motions of a projectile affect one another?
Which hits the ground first: a bullet fired horizontally from a gun or a bullet
dropped from the same height as the gun?

Materials
 Chair
 Skateboard
 Soccer ball or basketball
 A friend or volunteer
 Smooth floor
 Table
 Two coins
 Manila folder (or a thin piece of cardboard—something that is rigid but can be
folded)

Procedure
Skateboard

1. Have your friend or volunteer stand or sit on the skateboard while holding the
ball.
2. Roll the skateboard forward.
3. While rolling, have the person on the skateboard toss the ball straight up into the
air. Observe the ball’s trajectory. Where does it go? Is the person able to catch
the ball on its descent?

Coins

1. Cut the folder into a square roughly 5 inches on a side.

2. Fold the square to make a 2-inch wide “flap”. Position the flap so that it sticks
straight up and down.
3. Place the square on the corner of a table so that the two corners stick out from
both table edges. One on side, place a coin far enough out that is completely
clear of the table. On the other side, place a coin right up against the fold.
4. Grab the flap and give the cardboard a sharp, smooth twist. Your goal is to
horizontally launch the coin that was placed up against the fold while allowing the
other coin to drop straight to the ground. Listen for the sounds of the coins hitting
the floor. What do you notice?

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 KNOT IT UP!

Horizontal uniform velocity motion and vertical motion in one dimension

should serve as a reminder that all projectiles regardless of its path will always
follow these principles:

1. Projectiles always maintain a constant horizontal velocity (neglecting air

resistance).
2. Projectiles always experience a constant acceleration along the axis the
constant net force is directed to. There is a constant vertical acceleration
of 9.8 m/s2 downward (neglecting air resistance) for projectiles on air. For
projectiles on inclined surfaces, the constant “vertical” acceleration will
be smaller than 9.8 m/s2 down the tilt which is equal to gsin𝜽.
3. The horizontal and vertical motions are completely independent of each
other. Therefore, the horizontal motion and vertical motion can be treated
separately.
.4. For a projectile (neglecting air resistance) that begins and ends at the
same height, the time it takes to rise to its highest point equals the time it
takes to fall from the highest point back to its original height of release.

For the third principle, what can be done to show the independence of the
two components of projectile motion? Considering horizontal and vertical
components separately is important when solving projectile exercises and
investigating real life applications.

The activities for motion in two dimensions using the marble on an inclined
board were done to capture trajectories. So when interactive simulations on
projectiles can be done in class, the students wsill recognize thatwhat they
captured is a trajectory for two-dimensional motion not necessarily of a true
projectile where only the force gravity influences the flight.

Aside from gravity, other focus such as normal and frictional forces act on the
marble thus its acceleration is smaller than the 9.8 m/s2 rate due to gravity. In
spite of this, the trajectories are still a result of a constant horizontal velocity and
a “vertical motion” of constant acceleration.

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 Because other forces (normal and frictional) aside from gravity are acting on
the projectile marble, the marble’s “vertical” acceleration is smaller than the 9.8
m/s2 rate that is entirely due to gravity.

TRY THIS!

Watch a 4-minute video clip entitled “Palarong Pambansa 2013 – The

Faces of Our Future Sports Heroes….”. Observe the different kinds of motion
demonstrated. Describe the horizontal and vertical motions of projectiles you
have noticed in the video presented. Your must have at least 5
observations/answers. (Answers must be 5 or more than 5.)
RUBRIC:
10 pts. = at least 5 correct answers
8 pts. = 4 correct answers
6 pts. = 3 correct answers
4 pts. = 2 correct answers
2 pts. = 1 correct answer
1 pt. = there is an answer but not satisfying

REFERENCES

Department of Education, Science Teacher’s Guide, Grade 9 - Science, FEP

Printing Corporation, 2014

Department of Education, Science Grade 9, Learner’s Module, FEP Printing

Corporation, 2014

Silverio, Angelina A. Exploring Life Through Science, Physics Laboratory Manual,

Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., 2006.

https://www.education.com/sciencefair/article

https://in.answers.yahoo.com/questions/index

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 ANSWER KEYS

I.EXPLORE!

Figure 1: A motion diagram can be constructed from experimental evidence,

such as by analyzing a video of the balls as they fall.

Q 1 - Which ball travels a greater distance before hitting the ground?

Ball A takes the shortest path to the ground, so ball B travels farther.

Q 2 - Which ball reaches the ground first? Why?

We can construct a motion diagram (see Figure 4.9) by, for instance,
analyzing a video of the balls as they fall. Many people think that because ball B
travels farther it takes longer to reach the ground; however, ball B also has a
higher speed.
The reality is that both balls reach the ground at the same time. The
reason is that the motion of ball B can be viewed as a combination of its
horizontal motion and its vertical motion. The horizontal motion has no effect
whatsoever on the vertical motion, so what happens vertically for ball B is
exactly the same as what happens vertically for ball A.

The x-direction and y-direction motions are independent in the sense that
each of the onedimensional motions occurs as if the other motion is not
happening. These motions are connected, though. The object’s motion
generally stops after a particular time, so the time is the same for the x-direction
motion and the y-direction motion.This powerful concept allows us to treat a

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two-dimensional projectile motion problem astwo separate one-dimensional
problems.

II. NAVIGATE!

*For Activity 1 Curve Me On An Incline

Answers are discussed on generalization or Knot It Up part.

*For Activity 2

Results
Skateboard

You probably noticed that the ball went up and came right back down
to the person on the skateboard, despite the fact that she was moving the
whole time.

Coins

By listening to the coins, you will hear that they hit the floor at exactly the
same time, even though one was shot out while the other dropped straight
down.

Why?
Horizontal and vertical motion are completely independent of one
another. If you stand in one spot and toss a ball straight up, it will come back to
you. That’s probably not a surprise. But the ball also falls right back into your
hands even if you are moving sideways the whole time. The vertical (up and
down) motion of the ball knows absolutely nothing about
the horizontal (sideways) motion. When you throw the ball up while riding the
skateboard, the ball keeps going sideways. Because the ball retains its original
horizontal motion after it leaves your hands, it ends up in your hands again as if
neither you nor the ball had ever moved sideways in the first place.

The coin demonstration shows you the same thing, only a bit more
dramatically. Both coins fall from the same height and begin falling at the same
time. However, one is fired horizontally off the table while the other drops straight
down. Intuitively, you might think that the launched coin should take longer to hit
the ground because it has a greater distance to travel, but that’s not the case:
they both hit the ground at the same time. Remember: the coin’s vertical motion
knows nothing about its horizontal motion, and gravity doesn’t care either way.

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When figuring out how long it takes for either coin to hit the ground, all that
matters is the height from which you’re dropping them.

METADATA

Title: Projectile – Vertical and Horizontal Motions

Language: English

Keywords: S9FE –Iva - 34 , Quarter 4

The Horizontal and Vertical Motions of a Projectile

Description : Projectile
Description of the horizontal and vertical motions of a
Projectile

Primary Media: Print material

Primary storage: Flash Drive

Resource Location: Department of Education

Division of Aklan
District of Lezo
Lezo Integrated School

Developer : SHIRLEY R. CORTEZ

Teacher I
Checked by:

MYLEEN A. YERRO APRIL AMOR T. TAMBONG

Teacher III Teacher I
Lezo Integrated School Catalino M. Prado National Highschool

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Reviewed by:

PETER BRYLLE R. IBARDOLAZA

District Science Coordinator

Lezo Elementary School
District of Lezo

Endorsed by:

Dr. MARY CHERRY LYNN M. DALIPE

Education Program Supervisor-Science and Research

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