College Physics Lab
PH 141

Projectile Motion II

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Purpose:  The purpose of this lab is for you to gain more experience working with projectile motion. Discussion:  It can be shown that for a projectile of given initial velocity, the maximum range is obtained when the direction of the velocity vector is at 45o with respect to the horizontal. In this experiment you will investigate the trajectory of a projectile whose initial velocity is at 45o from the horizontal. Procedure:
1. Determine the muzzle velocity for your projector.
2. Predict the trajectory for the projectile when the projector is directed at 45o from the horizontal.
3. Test your prediction. a) Can you hit the waste paper basket?
b) Measure several points along the trajectory of the projectile.


Conclusion:
 

Application:
Try to hit the basket again.
Take your initial projectile velocity and multiply by 0.309 and let this be the initial y-component of the projectile velocity. Take your initial projectile velocity and multiply by 0.951 and let this be the initial x-component of the projectile velocity. How far from the launcher should you place the basket in order make the projectile in the basket?

Things to do:
1. Using the Pythagorean theorem, verify that these components are the components of the initial velocity.
2. Determine the range of the projectile for this situation.
3. Determine the launch angle from the given information.
4. Verify your prediction empirically.