Projectile Motion (Blog 15)

In order to calculate the speed, time, and distance of an object that is thrust into the air and back down, one must take into account where the object started and where it landed. It should fit into one of the four lines in the following diagram.

The black line is when an object is pushed straight forward into the air. It will go downward because of the force of gravity pushing it down. If there was no gravity, the object will continue going forward without going down.

The red line is when an object is thrown directly into the air at a certain angle and going back down to where it started, except with a significant distance from the starting position.

The blue line is when an object is thrown into the air but it does not land on the same level as when it was thrown. It lands at a level above the starting position.

The green line is the same as the blue line, except the level is below the starting position.

By using the x and y components and the big five equations, one can determine many useful information about the particular object being thrown.