THE VARIATION OF RANGE OF

CANNONBALL WITH THE ANGLE

OF PROJECTION
A project report
Submitted to the Department of Physics, St. Xavier’s College,
Maitighar, in the partial fulfillment of the requirement of NEB +2
science in physics

By
Garima Aryal
Class: 11
Section: B
Roll No:023NEB251
Date: January 2024
 RECOMMENDATION
This is to certify that Ms. Garima Aryal has successfully carried out the project entitled
“THE VARIATION OF RANGE OF CANNON BALL WITH THE ANGLE OF
PROJECTION” under my guidance and supervision.
I recommend this project for the +2 degree of NEB.

.....................
Supervisor
Mr. Ram Sundar Matang
Department of Physics
St. Xavier’s College Maitighar,
Kathmandu, Nepal

I
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The accomplishment and outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and
assistance, and I am extremely privileged to have got this along with the completion
of my project. So, I would take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to
all the teachers of the Department of Physics for their cordial support, valuable
information, and guidance.
I am indebted to the Department of Physics at St. Xavier's College, Maitighar for
providing me with such an expressive platform for the project. My special thanks to
the project supervisor Mr. Ram Sundar Matang for providing us with the golden
opportunity of doing this project.
I am extremely grateful for receiving all the humbleness and support. My sincere
thanks to my friends who helped me throughout the project.

Garima Aryal
11 B
023NEB251

II
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
RECOMMENDATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iii
INTRODUCTION 1
OBJECTIVES 4
METHODOLOGY 5
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 6
CONCLUSION 8
FUTURE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT 9
REFERENCE 10

III
 INTRODUCTION
A projectile is any object thrown into space upon which the only acting force is
gravity. The primary force acting on a projectile is gravity. The path followed by a
projectile is known as a trajectory.
When a particle is thrown obliquely near the earth’s surface, it moves along a curved
path under constant acceleration directed towards the centre of the earth. The path of
such a particle is called a projectile, and the motion is called projectile motion.
In a Projectile Motion, there are two simultaneous independent rectilinear motions:
Along the x-axis: uniform velocity, responsible for the horizontal (forward) motion of
the particle.
Along the y-axis: uniform acceleration, responsible for the vertical (downwards)
motion of the particle.
When a particle is projected in the air with some speed, the only force acting on it
during its time in the air is the acceleration due to gravity (g). This acceleration acts
vertically downward. There is no acceleration in the horizontal direction, which
means that the velocity of the particle in the horizontal direction remains constant.
Horizontal Projectile
Let an object be projected horizontally from a height of ‘h’ above the ground giving
initial horizontal velocity ‘u’. The projectile is under the action of gravity. So, the
horizontal velocity remains constant, whereas its vertical velocity goes on increasing
(initial vertical velocity=0). Some examples of horizontal motion are:
 A bullet fired from a gun.
 Throwing a ball or a cannonball.
 Movement of a billiard ball on the billiard table.
 The motion of the planet Earth around the Sun
Trajectory of the projectile
After a time ‘t’ suppose the body reaches point P(x,y) then,

1
Along horizontal axis,
distance=speed×time or, x=u×t
t=x/u
Along the vertical axis,
By the second equation of motion,
For vertical distance, y= 0 + ½ gt 2
y= ½ g(x/u)❑2❑
From the above equations, we have,
y= (g/2u❑2❑)x❑2❑
This is an equation of parabola. Hence, the path of the horizontal projectile is
parabolic. From the above equation, the position of the projectile at time t is (x,y)=
(ut, ½ gt 2).
Time of flight
The vertical distance covered by the projectile is equal to the height of the point of
projection above the ground. If T is the time of flight, then,
H = 0 + ½ gT❑2❑
T=√(2h/g)
Horizontal Range
It is the distance covered in the horizontal direction at the time-of-flight T.
R= u* √(2h/g)
Projectile fired at an angle with the horizontal
Suppose an object is projected with initial velocity ‘u’ at an angle with the ground
which is taken as the X-axis. OY is a vertical line perpendicular to the ground. The
velocity of the object ‘u’ has two components ux=ucos θ along the X-axis and uy=u
sinθ along the Y-axis. So, the initial velocity in the horizontal direction is u cos θ and
in the vertically upward direction is u sin
The motion of the projectile is two-dimensional. So, the horizontal distance is covered
by horizontal velocity which is not affected by gravity and the vertical distance is due
to the vertical velocity which is affected by gravity.

2
Path of the projectile
Let the object be at a point P in time ‘t’ whose horizontal distance and vertical
distance are ‘x’ and ‘y’. As the horizontal velocity is constant, horizontal distance ‘x’
in time ‘t’ is given as x = u cosθ × t
t = x/(u cosθ)
Since vertical velocity is affected by gravity, the vertical distance y covered in time t
is given as
y = u sinθ × t - ½ gt❑2❑
y = u sinθ × x/u cosθ - ½ g × x❑2❑/u❑2❑cos❑2❑θ
y = x tanθ- g/2u❑2❑cos❑2❑θ x❑2❑
This is an equation of a parabola. Hence the path of the projectile is parabolic. From
the above equations, position (x,y) of projectile at time t = (ucosθxt, usinθxt-½ gt❑2❑)
Maximum Height (h max)
It is the greatest height to which a projectile rises above the point of projection. At
maximum height, the vertical velocity of the projectile becomes zero. From the above
equation of the motion,
v❑2❑= u❑2❑+ 2gh,
We have,
0 = ( u sinθ )❑2❑ + 2 (-g) h max
H max = u❑2❑sin❑2❑θ/2g
Time of Flight (T)
The time for which a projectile remains in the air is called the time of flight. As the
body is projected from the ground and lands on the ground, the vertical displacement
is zero. Therefore, from the relation, y = ut + ½ at❑2❑
We have,
0 = u sinθ x T + ½(-g)T❑2❑
T = 2u sinθ/g
Horizontal Range (R)
The distance covered by the projectile during its time of flight is called its range.
Since there is no acceleration in the horizontal direction, so
Horizontal range = horizontal velocity x time of flight
R = u cos θ*2u sinθ/g
R = (u❑2❑ 2 sinθcosθ)/g
R = u❑2❑sin2θ/g
Maximum Range (R max)
For a given initial velocity ‘u’ horizontal distance depends on the angle of projection.
Since sin2θ has a maximum value of 1, the horizontal range will be maximum when
Sin 2θ= 1 = sin 90°
2θ = 90°
θ = 45°
So, to achieve maximum horizontal range, the object must be projected at an angle of
45° with the ground.

3
 OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of this study are;
1. To study the horizontal projectile and projectile fired at an angle with the
horizontal
2. To observe the variation of range of cannonball with the angle of projection

4
 METHODOLOGY
The study on the variation of range of canon ball with the angle of projection was
accomplished using both primary and secondary sources of information;
1. Primary sources of information;
Under this source of information, various textbooks were studied and used as a
reference for different topics.
2. Secondary sources of information;
Under this source of information, PHET simulation was used, and the facts were
proved with demonstration.

5
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
PHET simulation was used to study and demonstrate the variation of the range of the
cannonball with the angle of projection. The data are taken with the help of PHET
simulation and presented below.
For Horizontal Projectile
The simulation of the horizontal projectile was done by the launch of cannonball at
different angles of projection.
We have,
u (initial velocity) = 15 m/s
g (acceleration due to gravity) = 9.8 m/s/s
h(height)= 7 m
Projectiles are also affected by air resistance. However, for this simulation, air
resistance was neglected.
Observation Table 1
Variation of a cannonball with angle of projection in horizontal projectile
Angles (in degrees) Range (in meters) Time (in seconds)
20 25.75 1.83
35 28.36 2.18
45 28.56 2.69
60 23.32 3.11
75 13.11 3.38
85 4.52 3.46
Therefore, with the observations above, it can be verified that the horizontal range of
projectiles changes with the angle of projection. The horizontal range is maximum at
45°. The range increases up to 45° and then starts decreasing. It was also observed
that the more the angle of projection more the time of flight.

Fig. - Variation of range with angle of projection in horizontal projectile

6
For Projectile fired at an angle with the horizontal
The simulation of the projectile fired at an angle with the horizontal was carried out
by throwing a cannonball with a cannon on different angles of projection.
We have,
u (initial velocity) = 20 m/s
g (acceleration due to gravity) = 9.8 m/s/s
Projectiles are also affected by air resistance. However, for this simulation air
resistance was neglected.
Observation Table2
Variation of a cannonball with the angle of projection in projectile

Angle (in degrees) Range (in meters) Time (in seconds) Height (in meters)
25 31.24 1.72 3.64
30 35.31 2.04 5.1
45 40.77 2.88 10.19
60 35.31 3.53 15.29
75 20.39 3.94 19.02
85 7.08 4.08 20.23
Therefore, from the observation table above, it can be verified that the horizontal
range of the projectile changes with the angle of projection of the projectile with an
angle with the horizontal. It has also been verified that the horizontal range is
maximum at 45°. The range is same at 30° and 60° angle of projection. Time
increases with the increase in the angle of projection.

Fig.-Variation of Horizontal Range with the angle of projection in a projectile with an

angle with the horizontal

7
 CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that the horizontal range of the projectile changes with the change
in the angle of projection. The horizontal Range is maximum when the angle of
projection is 45°. The horizontal range is zero when the angle of projection is 90°.
Similarly, the time of flight also changes with the angle of projection. The time of
flight increases when the angle of projection increases. The maximum height also
changes with the angle of projection. The height increases with the increase in the
angle of projection. The height of the projectile is maximum at 90°
Therefore, it can be verified that the variation in horizontal range, time of flight and
maximum height is caused because of the variation in the angle of projection.

8
 FUTURE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT
Educational Tool Development:
The future scope of the project develops an interactive educational method or
applications. These tools and simulations can be designed for classroom use which
allows students to explore and experiment with different parameters and learn about
physics concepts in an engaging and fun manner.
Advanced Simulation Techniques:
The utilization of advanced simulation techniques or methods helps to enhance the
accuracy and realism of the simulations which could make complex physics easier to
understand and even help it to relate in the real world.
Incorporating Real-world Factors:
The study can be extended by considering real-world factors like air resistance, wind,
and variations in atmospheric conditions. The development of models that include real
life factors will make the simulations more realistic and applicable to practical
scenarios.

9
 REFERENCES
1. Books:
-Principle of Physics (Ayam Publications)
2. Websites:
- byjus.com (https://byjus.com)
3. Simulation and observation of variation of horizontal range of cannonball with the
angle of projection
- PHET simulation

10