SCIENCE 9: 4th quarter exams reviewer

I. Projectile motion
a. Mechanics – a branch of physics that deals with kinematics (the motion of objects
without reference to forces) and dynamics (forces and their influence on the motion of
objects).
b. One-dimensional motion – it is uniform motion in one dimension with constant
acceleration. The objects involved are moving in a straight line whose acceleration
doesn’t change over time.

i. Time is a scalar quantity (singular number) while the object’s position, initial
velocity, final velocity, and acceleration are vector quantities (has both
magnitude and direction).
ii. The difference between the two quantities is difficult to see in one-dimensional
motion but is easier in two-dimensional motion.
iii. The following kinematic equations are called the Big Three:

iv. Free fall – this is when an object is allowed to fall without any obstruction such
as air friction (or air resistance caused by air which resists motion) and that
only gravity acts upon the object.
v. Galileo Galilee – found out the relationship between the object’s velocity
(speed of a moving object in a particular direction) and time of fall.
vi. He also found out that the Gravitation constant or g averages to about
9.8m/s2
vii. For objects that are allowed to freely fall starting at rest, the kinematic equations
above become:

viii. a becomes -g because we take the downward direction of an object is it falls to

be the negative direction.
c. Two-dimensional motion
 i. Projectile motion – path followed by a ball when you throw it and it falls to the
ground.
ii. Projectile – an object that is initially thrown into the air and continues to move
on its trajectory acted upon by gravity.
iii. A projectile traces a curved or parabolic line because at the same time it’s
moving horizontally. It is also moving vertically under the effect of gravity.
d. Elements of projectile motion
i. A projectile is launched with an initial velocity and initial angle. As it travels
through the air, it displaces into two dimensions which are along the x
(horizontal) and y (vertical) axis. When it reurns back to earth and hits the target
it is called the final velocity or Vf.
ii. The following are the three factors solved for in projectile motion:

iii. Trajectory – path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the
action of given forces.
e. Elements of horizontal projectile motion
i. Assuming that there is nothing that opposes the motion of the projectile, its
horizontal velocity (Vx) is constant throughout the duration of its movement and
it covers the same distance in equal amount of time at any point in the
trajectory.
f. Elements of vertical projectile motion
i. The vertical part of the projectile motion can be compared to an object in free
fall. The ideal condition is that the object is accelerating only due to gravity.
ii. The velocity along the vertical (Vy) increases at the constant rate of ½ g.
g. Horizontal projectile motion
i. The velocity of objects along horizontal is the same anywhere in the trajectory
which means there is no acceleration.
ii. These are the first two kinematic equations:

iii. θ is the angle from the horizontal.

iv. This also assumes that the initial position is zero.
h. Vertical projectile motion
i. This accelerates at a rate of -g and is a constant -9.81 m/s2.
ii. The velocity along the vertical is zero when the projectile reaches its maximum
height.
iii. These are the first kinematic equations:
 iv. If the initial height is at zero and the initial speed along the vertical is also zero,
then the equation for height is simplified as:

v. Range – the maximum horizontal distance that a projectile covers. It depends

on the speed by which the projectile is launched and the angle by which the
projectile is thrown.
vi. To compute the range, find first the amount of time that the projectile was in the
air.
vii. Since the velocity at a maximum height is zero, the second equation for vertical
motion can be simplified as:

viii. It takes the object the same time to reach the highest point from the initial
position and from the highest point down so the entire duration of the flight will
be 2t.
ix. To find R we have to substitute 2t in the second kinematic equation for the
horizontal motion of projectiles.

i. Conditions of projectile motion

i. Along the vertical
• Neglect the effect of air resistance on the body.
• Separate the displacement and velocity to its x and y components.
ii. Along the horizontal
• The x-components of the velocity is always constant.
• The horizontal displacement x follows a linear motion (straight).
iii. Along the vertical
• The y-component behaves as free fall so it’s only affected by the
acceleration due to gravity.
 • Since the initial velocity is usually in an upward direction, then
upward=positive while downward=negative. So the g is negative
and is equal to 9.8 m/s2.
• Before reaching maximum height, it slows down due to g until it
reaches zero.
• After reaching the maximum height, g is in the same direction as the
velocity so it speed up.
iv. When the vertical displacement is at its maximum
• The x-component of the velocity is always constant.
• The y-component of the velocity is zero.
• The accelerated is still g and note zero.
j. Types of projectile motion
i. Type I projectiles – objects dropped from rest.
ii. Type II projectiles – an object that is thrown vertically upwards.
iii. Type III projectiles – an object is thrown upward at an angle to the horizontal.