In other words, the time of flight of projectile for both the balls is exactly the same! The orange ball has a vertical component of motion, but its horizontal component is zero. Under the influence of gravity, if you were to shoot a cannonball horizontally and drop a cannonball simultaneously from the same position, both the balls would hit the ground at the same time. Consider the cannon shown in the above figure. When studying projectile motion in two dimensions, it is essential to understand that the vertical and horizontal components of motion of the object don’t influence one another. WHAT CREATES THE CURVE IN THE TRAJECTORY? Under the absence of gravity, the ball would continue to fly horizontally in a straight line. The gravitational acceleration (g) increases the vertical component of velocity every second, as shown by the vector diagram in the figure. The moment the ball leaves the cannon, it begins to fall under the influence of gravity. Consider a cannon shooting a ball at 20 m/s horizontally:

It is important to divide its motion into vertical and horizontal components to analyze projectile motion.

While the primary force acting on a projectile is gravity, air creates some resistance to its motion called drag.Īir resistance can significantly change the trajectory of a projectile however, it is ignored in most introductory physics problems.

The path is taken by a projectile from the moment it is shot is called a trajectory.

Why the curve? Why can’t you send all these objects in a straight line to their targets? Let’s find out!Īny object thrown or shot into the air and continues to fall only under the influence of gravitational acceleration is known as a projectile. When shooting a basketball, you instinctively throw the ball higher while visualizing a curved path into the basket. However, their path to the target is never straight. What is common between a bullet fired from a gun, a basketball shot from the end of a court, and a football kicked towards a goal? These objects are given an initial momentum to make it to a target.

Projectile