Now that we understand 1D motion and 2D motion, let's launch some cannon balls and see what happens. And don't worry, we'll ignore air resistance.

In this lesson we'll learn about 1D and 2D projectile motion - the motion of an object moving through the air which is only affected by the force of gravity and nothing else. This includes objects that are thrown straight up, falling straight down, or moving sideways through the air (we call all of these projectiles).

We'll start with an introduction to projectile motion to understand the basics like the acceleration due to gravity, g.

Then we'll learn about the simpler case, 1D projectile motion, where an object only moves in the vertical direction.

After that we'll learn about 2D projectile motion. We can use the trig functions to break down 2D motion into its 1D components: motion in the x direction and motion in the y direction. These two motions are completely independent - they don't affect each other. However, they are happening at the same time, so we can use time as the link between our x motion and y motion equations. It will help to go through the 2D motion and vectors lesson before learning 2D projectile motion.

Introduction to Projectile Motion
V1: Each slide is a single image
V2: Each slide contains all of the individual graphics used in the video so you can edit things

1D Projectile Motion
V1: These include many slides that cover almost all of the transitions/animations in the video

V2: These include fewer slides that show some key points in the video

Multiple-Choice Questions

Answers

Free-Response Questions

Projectile motion

• 2022 Q4 - - Clay and ball collide with blocks, momentum, projectile motion
• 2021 Q1 - - Cyclist on ramp jumps over cars, kinematics, projectile motion, energy, work
• 2019 Q3 - - (Experimental design) Sphere is launched with a spring plunger, projectile motion, energy
• 2017 Q4 - - Blocks launched from a slide on table, projectile motion, energy
• 2015 Q4 - - Projectile motion of two spheres, projectile motion, FBDs

• Khan Academy - Impact velocity from given height
• Khan Academy - Horizontally launched projectile
• Khan Academy - Projectile at an angle

• Matt Anderson - Projectile Motion Example: how fast when it hits the ground
• Derek Owens - Projectile Practice Problem 1
• Derek Owens - Projectile Practice Problem 5

• Projectile motion 1
• Projectile motion 2
• Cart and ball

Other Resources

Now that we understand 1D motion and 2D motion, let's launch some cannon balls and see what happens. And don't worry, we'll ignore air resistance.

In this lesson we'll learn about 1D and 2D projectile motion - the motion of an object moving through the air which is only affected by the force of gravity and nothing else. This includes objects that are thrown straight up, falling straight down, or moving sideways through the air (we call all of these projectiles).

We'll start with an introduction to projectile motion to understand the basics like the acceleration due to gravity, g.

Then we'll learn about the simpler case, 1D projectile motion, where an object only moves in the vertical direction.

After that we'll learn about 2D projectile motion. We can use the trig functions to break down 2D motion into its 1D components: motion in the x direction and motion in the y direction. These two motions are completely independent - they don't affect each other. However, they are happening at the same time, so we can use time as the link between our x motion and y motion equations. It will help to go through the 2D motion and vectors lesson before learning 2D projectile motion.