What happens to the range of a projectile if you increase its initial speed, while you keep the initial height and launch angle constant?. What is a parabola? What is the difference between a parabola and a circular arc?. How do forces like gravity and air resistance affect a football as it moves through the air?. Do you think there is an "ideal" launch angle that will give the longest possible range? What about launch angle? Is it immediately obvious what launch angle will give the farthest range? In this sports science project, you will specifically do an experiment to find out the best launch angle to give the longest possible range (while doing your best to keep the other variables constant). There is also a pretty simple relationship between initial height and range - if a ball starts off higher above the ground, it will go farther. The range, initial speed, launch angle, and initial height of a projectile.Ĭan you think about how initial speed, launch angle, and initial height will affect the range of a projectile? The relationship between initial speed and range might seem obvious-if you throw a ball harder, it will go farther. Figure 2, illustrates range, initial speed, launch angle, and initial height.įigure 2. The initial height is the distance between the ball and the ground, the moment it leaves the thrower's hand. A launch angle of 90° means a ball is thrown straight up, perpendicular to the ground. A launch angle of 0° means a ball is thrown straight out, parallel to the ground. Launch angle is the angle the ball is traveling relative to the ground right when it is thrown. If you throw the ball harder, it will have a higher initial speed. Initial speed is how fast the ball is going the moment it leaves the quarterback's hand. The range of a projectile depends on three things: its initial speed, its launch angle, and the initial height above the ground. The horizontal distance a projectile travels before it hits the ground (or, more simply, how far the ball will go when you throw it) is called its range. In this science project, you will focus on the best way to throw the ball as far as possible, like for a game-winning touchdown play. Understanding projectile motion can be very important in a game like football, where, depending on the play, you might need to throw a ball into the end zone, kick it through the field goal posts, or punt it high into the air. A football quarterback has to understand projectile motion in order to accurately throw the ball to a receiver (photo courtesy of U.S. 
When there is air resistance (which always happens here, due to Earth's atmosphere, but would not happen somewhere like the Moon, where there is no atmosphere), a projectile does not move in a perfect parabola, but its path is still very close to one.įigure 1. When there is zero air resistance, a projectile moves in a path called a parabola. As the projectile moves, it is affected by the forces of gravity and air resistance. The study of how projectiles move through the air is called projectile motion. A football, a cannonball, a rock fired out of a slingshot, or a crumpled up wad of paper you throw across the room are all examples of projectiles. Any object that is launched through the air is called a projectile. But if you watch football, you know that the football is often launched through the air it can be thrown, kicked, or punted (see Figure 1). You might not think that a football game and your science class have anything in common. The only exception would be if the ball is too small to easily see on a camera from a distance, like a golf ball. Note: This science project is written with throwing a football as an example, but you can adapt this project to work with any sport where you throw or kick a ball.
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