Alex Burlew

Experiment 1

9 September 2013

Projectile Motion Lab

0956029

Lab Station 1

I.
Introduction
The horizontal distance traveled by a projectile with velocity(v) at an angle( θ ) above the horizontal is known as the range.(Weisstein) Range is dependent on the initial velocity of the projectile, the force of gravity, amount of time spent in motion, and the angle at which it is
2

launched. The equation used to calculate is as follows: Range = 2*V o g*sin2Θ . It is derived from the following kinematic equations:

ΔY = 12 * g * (Δt)2 + V OY * (Δt)
ΔX = V OX * Δt
In these kinematic equations, ΔY equals vertical displacement, g equals the force of gravity on
Earth, Δt is change in time from start to finish, V OY equals initial velocity in the vertical direction, ΔX equals horizontal displacement, and V OX equals the initial velocity in the horizontal direction. To calculate the muzzle velocity of the projectile launcher, the following equations can be used for the x direction and the y direction, respectively. V OX = ||||V O|||| * cosθ , and V OY = ||||V O|||| * sinθ
Objectives:
The purpose of this experiment is to find how the range of a projectile varies with angle.
Hypothesis:
If the above equations defining projectile motion are correct, then the angle of maximum range is 45 o .

List of Equipment:
­ Launcher and plastic ball
­ Muzzle loader
­ Plum bob
­ Meter sticks (3)
­ Graph paper
Procedure:
1. Lay three meter sticks in a straight line end to end starting from the edge of the launcher. 2. Fire one shot with the launcher at 10o to approximate where the ball will land. Mark this spot with a pen.
3. Fire five shots and record the distance from the base of the launcher to the spot where the ball lands.
4. Repeat steps 1­3, increasing the angle of the launcher 10o each time, until reaching
80o .
Include 45o .
Diagram:

Figure 3.1 Shooting on a level surface
9 September 2013

Experiment 1

0956029

II.
Data:
10o

20o

30o

40o

45o

50o

60o

70o

80o

Trial 1 141

179

216

236.5

238.5

230.5

200

149.5

79

Trial 2 140.5

178

215.5

236

239

230.5

200.7

149

80

Trial 3 140.5

178.5

215

238

239.5

230.5

199.5

148

80.5

Trial 4 140

179.5

215.5

237.5

240

231

199

148.5

80.5

Trial 5 141.5

180

217

238

239.5

231

199

148.5

79

Avg
ΔX

179

215.8

237.2

239.3

230.7

199.6

148.7

79.8

Angle

140.7

9 September 2013

Experiment 1

0956029

III.
Graph: