Scribd
Upload
0 views

Projectile Motion and Exam Style Questions

The document discusses methods for measuring gravitational acceleration (g) through experiments involving falling objects and distance-time graphs. It explains that both dropped and projected objects experience the same vertical acceleration due to gravity, while their horizontal motions are independent. Additionally, it covers the concept of terminal velocity, highlighting the differences in falling behavior between dense and light objects due to air resistance.

Uploaded by

Latheesh Thayambath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0 views

Projectile Motion and Exam Style Questions

The document discusses methods for measuring gravitational acceleration (g) through experiments involving falling objects and distance-time graphs. It explains that both dropped and projected objects experience the same vertical acceleration due to gravity, while their horizontal motions are independent. Additionally, it covers the concept of terminal velocity, highlighting the differences in falling behavior between dense and light objects due to air resistance.

Uploaded by

Latheesh Thayambath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 16

Measuring ‘g’

A rough estimate for g can be made by timing the


fall of a rubber ball from the top of a building.
Distance–time graphs for a falling object
For an object falling freely from rest in a uniform
gravitational field without air resistance, there will be
constant acceleration g, so we have

A graph of distance s against time t is shown in the


figure.
The gradually increasing slope indicates the speed of
the object increases steadily.
A graph of s against t2 is shown in second figure : it is
a straight line through the origin since s∝t 2 ( g being
constant at one place).
Projectiles
One ball was dropped from rest and the other, a
projectile, was thrown sideways at the same time.
Their vertical accelerations (due to gravity) are
equal, showing that a projectile falls like a body
which is dropped from rest. Its horizontal velocity
does not affect its vertical motion.

The horizontal and vertical motions of a body are


independent and can be treated separately.
if a ball is thrown horizontally from the top of a cliff and takes 3s to reach the beach
below, we can calculate the height of the cliff by considering the vertical motion
only. We have u = 0 (since the ball has no vertical velocity initially), a = g = +9.8m/s2
and t = 3s.
The height s of the cliff is given by
Air resistance: terminal velocity
A small dense object, such as a steel ball bearing, has a high terminal
velocity and falls a considerable distance with a constant
acceleration of 9.8m/s2 before air resistance equals its weight.

A light object, like a raindrop, or an object with a large surface area,


such as a parachute, has a low terminal velocity and only accelerates
over a comparatively short distance before air resistance equals its
weight.

You might also like