1. Projectile Motion: Student Learning Goals
The student will plan and conduct an inquiry to study the motion of an object being accelerated by the force of gravity.

2. Projectile Motion
SPH3U

3. What is a projectile?
A projectile is any object upon which the only force acting is gravity.

4. Acceleration
The acceleration of the object is always [down] even while it is moving upwards.

5. Acceleration
The acceleration of the object is always [down] even while it is moving upwards.
And all objects experience the same acceleration.

6. The trajectory
The path of a projectile (also called the trajectory) will always be a parabola.

7. The trajectory
Why? Because as a projectile falls, the horizontal displacement increases linearly with time – there is no horizontal acceleration.

8. The trajectory
Why? Because as a projectile falls, the horizontal displacement increases linearly with time – there is no horizontal acceleration.

9. The trajectory
This is true even if the projectile is launched at an angle above the horizontal:

10. Projectiles are often launched at an angle above their horizontal to increase their range, the horizontal distance travelled before they hit the ground.