Projectile Motion Virtual Lab
Directions: Go to Kern’s Website. Click on “Physics” Scroll to the Assignments section and click the link for the
“Projectile Motion Virtual Lab”
http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/more_stuff/Applets/Projectile/projectile.html
Set-up:
• Do NOT check the box titled “Air Resistance”
Pre-lab Question
Does the mass of an object in free-fall effect the way the object falls?
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Why, or why not?
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Is an object thrown (or launched) at an angle in free-fall if we ignore air resistance?
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Procedure A: We will discover the effect of initial velocity on the motion of a projectile
• Set the initial angle to 45°
• Set the initial velocity to 10 m/s
• Click “FIRE!”
• Fill in the table below from the readouts on the screen
• Repeat the above steps changing only the value for the initial velocity and recording the information for each shot.
Initial Velocity Range
Height Final Velocity Time Taken
(m/s)
(meters) (Meters)
(m/s)
(Seconds)
10
20
30
40
50
When initial velocity is increased, which of the other measurements also increases?
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1. How does initial velocity and end velocity of the projectile compare for each launch?
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2. Describe the path of all of the projectile paths in this part of the lab
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Procedure B: We will discover the effect of launch angle on the motion of a projectile
• Click “CLEAR”
• Set the initial velocity to 50 m/s
• Set the initial angle to 10 degrees
• Click “FIRE!”
• Fill in the table below from the readouts on the screen.
• Repeat the steps above changing only the initial angle and recording the information for each shot
Initial Angle
(Degrees)
10
20
30
40
45
50
60
70
80
90
Range
(meters)
Height
(Meters)
Final Velocity
(m/s)
Time Taken
(Seconds)
3.
4.
5.
6.
At what angle was the maximum distance reached? __________
At what angle was the maximum height reached? __________
At what angle was the maximum “hang time” reached? ______________
Compare the maximum distance reached for a shot of 10° and a shot at 80°. What do you notice?
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7. What is the sum of the two angles from the previous question? ________
8. Look at other pairs of angles that add up to the sum from question 11, what do you notice about the maximum distances of
each pair?
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9. A projectile is launched at 76°. Use the simulation to answer the following questions:
• What is its range? _______
• Without using the simulation, what other angle will give the same range? ________
• Use the simulation to check your answer, were you correct? ______
10. Based on the data and observations made in this section of the lab, what is the sum of any two angles that produce the same
range? _________
Procedure C: We will discover the effect of air resistance on the motion of a projectile.
• Click “CLEAR”
• Click the box for air resistance
• Set the air resistance drag parameter to 5
• Fill in the table below by changing the launch angle and initial velocity of each shot according to the table. When the column
labeled “Air Resistance” says YES, then check the “Air Resistance” box before firing the shot.
•
Air Resistance Initial Velocity Launch Angle
Range
Height Final Velocity Time Taken
(YES or NO)
(m/s)
(degrees)
(Meters) (Meters)
(m/s)
(seconds)
YES
30
35
NO
30
35
YES
30
65
NO
30
65
YES
60
35
NO
60
35
YES
60
65
NO
60
65
YES
60
90
NO
60
90
11. What seems to be the overall effect of air resistance on these characteristics of projectile motion? (Hint: Do they increase,
decrease or remain the same?)
• Maximum range:
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• Maximum Height
________________
• Total “hang” time
________________
• End Velocity:
________________
Summary:
State the major ideas you learned about projectile motion from this virtual lab investigation in your own words:
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