Investigate the motion of a projectile.
The "Reset" button brings the projectile to its initial position. You can start or stop and continue the simulation with the other two buttons. If you choose the option "Slow motion", the movement will be ten times slower. You can vary (within certain limits) the values of initial height, initial speed, angle of inclination, mass and gravitational acceleration. The radio buttons give the possibility to select one of five physical sizes.
The effect of air resistance is neglected.
The "Reset" button brings the projectile to its initial position. You can start or stop and continue the simulation with the other two buttons. If you choose the option "Slow motion", the movement will be ten times slower. You can vary (within certain limits) the values of initial height, initial speed, angle of inclination, mass and gravitational acceleration. The radio buttons give the possibility to select one of five physical sizes.
The effect of air resistance is neglected.
Software/Applets used on this page
Based on free Java applets from Java Applets on Physics
Glossary
acceleration
the rate of change of velocity with time. It is a vector quantity with magnitude and direction.
air resistance
This force caused by atoms and molecules in the air colliding with an object moving through the air acts in the opposite direction to motion. The larger the surface area of an object, perpendicular to its direction of motion, the more air will collide with it as it moves and so the greater the air resistance force. Normally in Mechanics it is generally assumed that the force of air resistance is small enough to be ignored.
mass
a measure of the quantity of matter in an object
projectile
a body moving in a gravitational field under free fall
resistance
a force that opposes the motion of a particle. Its direction is always opposite to the direction of motion.
speed
velocity without direction; a scalar quantity
This question appears in the following syllabi:
| Syllabus | Module | Section | Topic | Exam Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA A-Level (UK - Pre-2017) | M1 | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| AQA A2 Maths 2017 | Mechanics | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| AQA AS/A2 Maths 2017 | Mechanics | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| CCEA A-Level (NI) | M2 | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| CIE A-Level (UK) | M2 | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| Edexcel A-Level (UK - Pre-2017) | M2 | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| Edexcel A2 Maths 2017 | Mechanics | Projectiles | Projectiles | - |
| Edexcel AS/A2 Maths 2017 | Mechanics | Projectiles | Projectiles | - |
| OCR A-Level (UK - Pre-2017) | M2 | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| OCR A2 Maths 2017 | Mechanics | Motion in Two Dimensions | Projectiles | - |
| OCR MEI A2 Maths 2017 | Mechanics | Projectiles | Projectiles | - |
| OCR-MEI A-Level (UK - Pre-2017) | M1 | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| Pre-U A-Level (UK) | Mech | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| Universal (all site questions) | K | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |
| WJEC A-Level (Wales) | M2 | Kinematics | Projectiles | - |