Aristotelian Conceptions: Vertical Motion, Horizontal Motion, and Projectile Motion
UNIVERSAL LAWS IN PHYSICS
Lesson and questions
Lesson Study notes Ques tions
Objective
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to explain Aristotle’s conceptions in motion
(vertical motion, horizontal motion, and projectile motion).
Aristotle is one of most influential Greek philosophers whose ideas were the basis for
many concepts that time.
How did he view and explain the motion of objects?
Learn about it!
Aristotle’s view on motion was based on his observations, which made his ideas
acceptable and stood for many years.
Motion is an object’s change in position with respect to time. According to Aristotle,
motion can either be a natural motion or a violent motion.
Natural Motion
An object will move and will eventually return to its natural state depending on the
composition that the object is made of. An object made of material similar to earth will
return to earth or an object that is similar to air will return to the air. For example, a ball
mostly resembles the earth so when it is thrown upward its natural tendency is to go
back to Earth, its natural state or the smoke mostly resembles the air so its natural
tendency is to go up the atmosphere.
Violent motion
An object will move if an external force such as pushing or pulling is applied to it. No
motion will take place unless there is a 'mover' in contact with an object.
Learn about it!
Aristotle’s View on Projectile Motion
Aristotle believed that the motion of an object is parallel to the ground until it is the
object's time to fall back into the ground. An impetus will be kept by the object until such
time that the initial force is forgotten, and the object returns to its natural state to stop
moving and fall to the ground.
Example
A cannon is fired which give the cannonball an impetus that will dictate its course until
such time that the impetus is forgotten, and the cannonball will naturally fall to the
ground.
What do you think?
What ideas challenged the Aristotelian principle of motion?
Key Points
According to Aristotle, motion can either be a natural motion or a violent motion.
An object will move and will eventually return to its natural state depending on
the composition that the object is made of. This referred as the natural
motion of an object.
An object will move if an external force such as pushing or pulling is applied to it.
This is referred as the violent motion of an object.
The motion of an object is parallel to the ground until it is the object's time to fall
back into the ground. This is referred as the projectile motion of an object.
QUESTION 1
Which of the following is an example of a violent motion?
A. a ball kicked from the ground
B. water flowing in a river
C. a dropped pen falling to the ground
D. rocks falling from a mountain
QUESTION 2
According to Aristotle, which of the following elements would a rock go back to if thrown
upward?
A. earth
B. air
C. water
D. fire
QUESTION 3
According to Aristotle, which of the following objects shows a projectile motion?
A. a fired cannon ball
B. a leaf falling from a tree
C. a coin tossed in the air
D. the rain falling from the sky
QUESTION 4
Which of the following are true about the natural motion of an object according to Aristotle?
A. An object will return to its natural state depending on its composition.
B. An object will return to the ground if it has a similar material with the earth.
C. An object will go back to the air if it has a similar material with the air.
D. An object will fall to the ground because it is thrown upward.
QUESTION 5
Ariel shot an arrow from a distance.
According to Aristotle, which of the following is true about this scenario?
A. The shooting of an arrow shows a projectile motion.
B. The shooting of an arrow shows a violent motion.
C. The shooting of an arrow shows a natural motion.
D. The shooting of an arrow shows a free fall motion.
QUESTION 6
A pebble shot using a slingshot.
According to Aristotle, which of the following is true about the scenario?
A. The pebble experienced a projectile motion.
B. The pebble experienced a violent motion.
C. The pebble experienced a natural motion.
D. The pebble experienced a free fall motion.
QUESTION 7
A crate full of fish is pulled by two men.
According to Aristotle, which of the following are true about this scenario according to
Aristotle?
A. The crate experiences a violent motion.
B. The crate experiences an external force.
C. The crate experiences a projectile motion.
D. The crate experiences momentum.
QUESTION 8
Geoffrey released his toy balloon. He watched it as it slowly rises in the air.
According to Aristotle, which of the following are true about this scenario?
A. The balloon experiences a natural motion.
B. The balloon experiences a violent motion.
C. The balloon experiences a projectile motion.
D. The balloon experiences a free fall motion.
QUESTION 9
A boy was pushed from a height of a water slide.
According to Aristotle, which of the following is true about this scenario?
A. The boy experienced a violent motion due to an external force.
B. The boy experienced a projectile motion due to an impetus.
C. The boy experienced a natural motion due to its similarities to earth.
D. The boy experienced a free fall due to the absence of external force.
QUESTION 10
Which of the following best explains why Aristotle’s view on motion stood for many years?
A. Aristotle’s ideas are readily proven through observation.
B. Aristotle was a very influential Greek philosopher.
C. People at the time were gullible to the ideas of the philosophers.
D. Aristotle supported his ideas with laboratory experimentation.
