3.4 Projectile Motion

A projectile is launched at ground level with an initial speed of 50.0 m/s at an angle of $30.0º$ above the horizontal. It strikes a target above the ground 3.00 seconds later. What are the $x$ and $y$ distances from where the projectile was launched to where it lands?

A ball is thrown horizontally from the top of a 60.0-m building and lands 100.0 m from the base of the building. Ignore air resistance. (a) How long is the ball in the air? (b) What must have been the initial horizontal component of the velocity? (c) What is the vertical component of the velocity just before the ball hits the ground? (d) What is the velocity (including both the horizontal and vert…

An archer shoots an arrow at a 75.0 m distant target; the bull’s-eye of the target is at same height as the release height of the arrow. (a) At what angle must the arrow be released to hit the bull’s-eye if its initial speed is 35.0 m/s? In this part of the problem, explicitly show how you follow the steps involved in solving projectile motion problems. (b) There is a large tree halfway between th…

Verify the ranges for the projectiles in the figure(a) for $\theta = \text{45}º$ and the given initial velocities.

The cannon on a battleship can fire a shell a maximum distance of 32.0 km. (a) Calculate the initial velocity of the shell. (b) What maximum height does it reach? (At its highest, the shell is above 60% of the atmosphere—but air resistance is not really negligible as assumed to make this problem easier.) (c) The ocean is not flat, because the Earth is curved. Assume that the radius of the Earth is…

In the standing broad jump, one squats and then pushes off with the legs to see how far one can jump. Suppose the extension of the legs from the crouch position is 0.600 m and the acceleration achieved from this position is 1.25 times the acceleration due to gravity, $g$. How far can they jump? State your assumptions. (Increased range can be achieved by swinging the arms in the direction of the jump…

Serving at a speed of 170 km/h, a tennis player hits the ball at a height of 2.5 m and an angle $\theta$ below the horizontal. The base line is 11.9 m from the net, which is 0.91 m high. What is the angle $\theta$ such that the ball just crosses the net? Will the ball land in the service box, whose service line is 6.40 m from the net?

Gun sights are adjusted to aim high to compensate for the effect of gravity, effectively making the gun accurate only for a specific range. (a) If a gun is sighted to hit targets that are at the same height as the gun and 100.0 m away, how low will the bullet hit if aimed directly at a target 150.0 m away? The muzzle velocity of the bullet is 275 m/s. (b) Discuss qualitatively how a larger muzzle…

An owl is carrying a mouse to the chicks in its nest. Its position at that time is 4.00 m west and 12.0 m above the center of the 30.0 cm diameter nest. The owl is flying east at 3.50 m/s at an angle 30.0º below the horizontal when it accidentally drops the mouse. Is the owl lucky enough to have the mouse hit the nest? To answer this question, calculate the horizontal position of the mouse when it…

Can a goalkeeper at her/ his goal kick a soccer ball into the opponent’s goal without the ball touching the ground? The distance will be about 95 m. A goalkeeper can give the ball a speed of 30 m/s.

In 2007, Michael Carter (U.S.) set a world record in the shot put with a throw of 24.77 m. What was the initial speed of the shot if he released it at a height of 2.10 m and threw it at an angle of $38.0º$ above the horizontal? (Although the maximum distance for a projectile on level ground is achieved at $\text{45}º$ when air resistance is neglected, the actual angle to achieve maximum range is smaller; thus, $\text{38}º$ w…

A football player punts the ball at a $45.0º$ angle. Without an effect from the wind, the ball would travel 60.0 m horizontally. (a) What is the initial speed of the ball? (b) When the ball is near its maximum height it experiences a brief gust of wind that reduces its horizontal velocity by 1.50 m/s. What distance does the ball travel horizontally?

Derive $R = \frac{v_{0}^{2} \text{sin} 2θ_{0}}{g}$ for the range of a projectile on level ground by finding the time $t$ at which $y$ becomes zero and substituting this value of $t$ into the expression for $x - x_{0}$, noting that $R = x - x_{0}$