Projectile Motion

In kinematics, previously we've learned about the equations for one dimensional motions only. After we've learned how to add and subtract vector components. Now, it's time to apply all this knowledge to solve two dimensional problems using both The Big 5 equations and the vector components. The first step and the most important one is to set the givens for x direction ( horizontally) and y direction (vertically). 

There are 4 types of problems that we will deal with in this section.

Type 1: The X component is assumed to have no forces acting on it so we will consider that the velocity for the X component stays the same = constant = no acceleration. The distance in X components is how foe far the object traveled from the starting point. In y component there is acceleration = 9.8 m/s². V1 is considered to be 0. The distance of the y component is actually the height at which the object is located. The only thing that is the same between X and Y components is the time. 

Type 2: The X component is still constant and it's not changing for the other types of the problems. Dx is now the range, which is the same thing as the distance from one point to the other. In this type of problems the angle is given in order for us to find the initial velocities of the X and Y components. To find the initial velocity of the X component we use V1cos(theta). To find the initial velocity for the y component, we use V1sin(theta). Also it is important to mention that Dy is equal to 0 because the object began and ended the motion at the ground level. 

Type 3: The variables of this type are almost equal with the previous one, the only difference is that the object won't land at the ground but on a object or a particular place in the air. 

Type 4: In this types of questions we can apply the same knowledge as we did on type 3 problems, the only thing to keep in mind is that the object won't land at the same level as it started. The object will be lower than its starting point and because of this our Dy = height will be negative.