Dr. Tenenbaum
CP Physics
2015-2016
Name_________________
Per_____
Projectile motion worksheet
Key concepts:
 Kinematic equations can be used to find the motion of a projectile
 The general shape of a projectile’s path
A tennis ball is launched at a speed of 52m/s at an angle of 22.6° above the horizontal.
1. Find v0x and v0y.
v0=52m/s
v0y
v0x=52m/s*sin22.6°=48m/s
voy=52m/s*cos22.6°=20m/s
22.6°
v0x
2. The ball is launched from the ground so at t=0, dy=0 and dx=0. Find dy and dx for t=1s.
dx=v0xt+axt2=v0xt=48m/s*1s=48m
dy=v0yt+ayt2=10m/s*1s+(-10m/s2)*(1s)2=15m
3. Fill out the chart below to find dx
and dy for other times.
t (s)
0
dx (m)
0
dy (m)
0
0.5
24
9
1
48
15
1.5
72
19
2
96
20
2.5
120
19
3
144
15
3.5
168
9
4
192
0
Dr. Tenenbaum
CP Physics
2015-2016
4. Graph dy vs dx on graph paper to see what the path of the ball looks like.
5. In part 1, you find vy and vx at t=0. Find vx and vy at t=1s.
vfx=v0x+axt = 48m/s+0*1s=48m/s
vfy=voy+ayt=20m/s+(-10m/s2)*1s=10m/s
6. Fill out the chart below to find vx and vy at other times.
t (s)
0
vx (m/s)
48
vy (m/s)
20
1
48
10
2
48
0
3
48
-10
4
48
-20
7. Draw vx and vy on your graph in part 3. Use a scale of 1 square = 10m/s. Like this:
Understanding questions:
1. What happens to vx as time continues? What happens to vy?
vx doesn’t change. vy gets smaller until it becomes 0. Then it gets larger and negative.
2. What happens to v as time continues?
Same as vy
3. What happens to vx at the highest point? What happens to vy at the highest point?
Nothing interesting happens to vx at the highest point, but vy=0 at the highest point.
vx
vy