• The projectile motion of an object is the motion of

an object that is launched into space. The object

that is launched into space is known as a projectile,
and the path traveled by it is called the trajectory of
a projectile.
• Some real-life examples of a projectile are a javelin
thrown by an athlete, a bullet fired from a gun, an
arrow released from a bow, the launching of
missiles, etc. When an object is launched into
space, the only force that acts on it is gravity. There
are also other forces like air resistance that act on a
projectile, but their impact on it is minimal
compared to gravity.
• There are also other forces like air resistance that
act on a projectile, but their impact on it is minimal
compared to gravity. Some initial force must be
imparted to an object for it to become a projectile
and remember that the object tossed straight
upward is not considered a projectile.
• When an object is launched into the air at an angle
with respect to the horizontal and with an initial
velocity, it travels in a curved path under the
influence of acceleration due to gravity. The path of
a projectile is a predictable path that has a
parabolic shape.
• The above figure represents the projectile motion
of an object that was launched at the point “O”
(point of projection) with an initial velocity of “u”
and at an angle θ. The object travels in a parabolic
path and reaches a maximum height of “H” while
being decelerated by gravity. As the object travels
up, its vertical component of velocity decreases and
becomes zero as it reaches maximum height, and
then it will drop until it touches the ground due to
gravitational pull. The distance between the point
of projection (O) and the landing point (B) is called
the range (R), and the time taken by the object to
reach from O to B is called the time of flight.
• In a projectile motion, there are two components of
velocity: velocity along the horizontal direction or
X-direction, and velocity along the vertical direction
or Y-direction. They can be found with the help of
the equations of motion.
• v = u + at
• v2 = u2 + 2as
• where
• “v” is the final velocity,
• “u” is the initial velocity,
• “a” is the acceleration,
• “t” is time,
• “s” is the displacement.
• Velocity in the Horizontal Direction
• The velocity along the horizontal direction remains
the same throughout the entire projectile motion
as the projectile will not experience acceleration in
this direction as the acceleration due to gravity acts
vertically down, i.e., the velocity in the X-direction
at the time of its launch and landing is the same.
• Acceleration in the Horizontal direction (ax) = 0
• Initial velocity of the projectile in the X-direction =
ux = u cos θ
• Velocity of the projectile in the X-direction = Vx = ux
= u cos θ
• where
• “Vx” is the Horizontal velocity at time t,
• “u” is the Initial velocity of the particle,
• “θ” is the angle of projection.
• Velocity in the Vertical Direction
• Acceleration in the Vertical direction (ax) = −g (as
the acceleration due to gravity acts vertically
downwards)
• Initial velocity of the projectile in the Y-direction =
uy = u sin θ
• From the equation of the initial velocity of the
projectile in the Y-direction, we can say that it
depends on the initial velocity and angle of
projection.
• In the vertical direction, the projectile experiences
a downward pull from acceleration due to gravity
since it acts vertically downwards. Hence, the
velocity in the vertical direction will change with
time as the projectile will decelerate as it rises and
accelerate as it falls. The formula to determine
velocity in the vertical direction after time “t” is
given as follows:
• Vertical Velocity (Vy) = uy − gt
• Vy = u sinθ − gt
• where,
• “Vy” is the Vertical velocity at time t,
• “u” is the Initial velocity of the particle,
• “θ” is the angle of projection,
• “g” is the acceleration due to gravity, and
• “t” is a time of flight.
• Solved Examples on Projectile Motion For Vertical
Velocity
• Example 1: A football player throws a ball with an
initial velocity of 25 m/s in a direction, making an
angle of 45° horizontal. Determine the vertical
velocity of the ball if the time interval is 10 seconds.
(g = 9.8 m/s2)
• Given data:
• Initial velocity (u) = 25 m/s
• Angle (θ) = 45°
• Time interval (t) = 10 seconds
• Acceleration due to gravity (g) = 9.8 m/s2
• Determine the vertical velocity of the ball that is
launched from some distance, making the projectile
motion. The ball was thrown with an initial velocity
of 30 m/s at an angle of 30°, and it hit the ground
after 8 seconds. (g = 10 m/s2)
• Given data,
• Initial velocity (u) = 30 m/s
• Time interval = 8 sec
• Angle (θ) = 30°
• Acceleration due to gravity = 10 m/s2