Oscar Ayala
10-24-11
4th
The Effect of Launch Angle on Projectile Range
Purpose
In this experiment we are looking at the effect of the launch angle on the distance (range) of the projectile.
Hypothesis
Changing the launch angle will affect the range of the projectile.
Materials



Metric Ruler
Projectile
Launcher
Procedure
1) Shoot your projectile in the horizontal direction only 0°.
2) Find the initial velocity of your projectile launcher by calculating the time it takes to hit the ground
from a known height and then measuring the range.
3) Repeat this 3 times and take average.
4) Launch the projectile at several different angles to determine the effect the launch angle has on the
maximum range of a projectile.
5) Use the angles 30°, 45°, 60° and at least 2 other angles of your own choosing.
6) Take at least 3 data points of each angle.
Data Table and Graph
Distance in (m)
Range Average (m)
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Projectile
0
20
40
60
Degree of Angle
80
100
Oscar Ayala
10-24-11
4th
Degree(s)
0
30
45
60
10
90
Range (m) (average)
2.46
2.69
4.73
3.95
2.44
0.52
Results
The trends that are evident in the experiment after doing many trials for the different trajectories is that the
central degrees had a greater range than the angles closer to 90 degrees or zero. The two farthest ranges
came from the 45 degree and 60 degree angle launch. This tells us that the angles do affect the range of a
launched projectile even though gravity pulls on them at the same force.
Conclusion
The hypothesis was supported by the data. The changing of the launch angle will have an effect on the
range of the projectile. Possible errors could have been calculating the distance where the projectile first
landed back to the source of launch. Another possible error could have been the launching force, it was
not as constant and therefore making the launch as constant as possible with the same force could have
helped us determine range easier. The exact range was not possible to obtain and that might have caused
an error towards calculating the distance that the projectile had actually traveled.
Follow-up questions
1) The final vertical and horizontal velocities of the projectile when launched from an angle of 0°
were .84 meters per second.
2) The resultant velocity of the projectile was 0.99 meters per second.