THE CONCEPT OF RELATIVE VELOCITIES IN ONE AND TWO DIMENSIONS
TERMS
MOTION-It refers to the change in position of an object with respect to its surroundings in a given interval
of time.
VECTOR-A quantity that has both magnitude and direction.
STATIONARY-It means not moving in the laboratory frame.
COMPONENTS-It is a part of a two-dimensional vector and composed of x- axis and yaxis.
RELATIVE VELOCITY-It defined as the velocity of an object B in the rest frame of another object A.
TIME-It is used to combined mathematically with other fundamental quantities to derive other concepts
such as motion.
DISPLACEMENT-It refers to the change in position of an object and its direction over a certain period of
time.
DIRECTIONS-It is an important component of motion and can be described with the cardinal directions
namely North, South, East, or West.
POSITION-A place where someone or something is located or has been put. In physics, it is usually a
number on an axis.
REFERENCE-A set of coordinates that can be used to determine positions and
velocities of objects in that frame.
TWO DIMENSIONS-It is where an object undergoes motion along the axis at the same time.
SUBSCRIPTS-It is a small letter or number placed slightly lower than the normal text.
ANGLE-It is defined as a figure that is formed from two line lines that meet at a common place.
CONSTANT-It is a value that never changes.
ONE DIMENSION- It means motion along a line, or in one particular direction.
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL COMPONENTS OF PROJECTILE MOTION
A projectile is an object upon which the only force acting is gravity. There are variety of examples of
projectiles such as an object dropped from rest, thrown vertically upward and thrown upward at an angle to
the horizontal provided that the influence of air resistance is negligible. It also refers to any object that once
projected or dropped continues in motion by its own inertia and is influenced only by the downward force of
gravity.
By definition, a projectile has a single force that acts upon it - the force of gravity. If there were any other
force acting upon an object, then that object would not be a projectile. In addition, there are key factors to
remember in dealing vertical and horizontal components of projectile motion namely:
Velocity (v)
Horizontal velocity (vx)
Vertical velocity (vy)
Angle of launch (ɵ)
Height (h)
Time of flight (t)
Range (R)
Maximum height (Hmax)
Acceleration due to gravity (ag)
Characteristics of a Projectile’s Trajectory
Many projectiles not only undergo a vertical motion, but also undergo a horizontal motion. As they move
upward or downward they are also moving horizontally. There are the two components of the projectile's
motion - horizontal and vertical motion.
Horizontal and Vertical Motion
A jet cruising at a speed of 1000 km/hr ejects hot air in the opposite direction. If the speed of hot air with
respect to Jet is 800 km/hr, then find its speed with respect to ground.
U-531 fires a torpedo at a freighter in the North Atlantic. The torpedo travels at 27 knots NW. The freighter
travels at 7 knots 30° S of E. What is the velocity of the torpedo relative to the freighter?
Directions: Read and analyze the questions carefully and write your answers inside the across and down
boxes
Across
3. in a vertically launched projectile, what increases on the way down?
6. which component changes due to gravity?
10. is there a vertical velocity at the top of the trajectory?
12. what is the value of the initial vertical velocity of a projectile that is launched
horizontally?
15. an object which projected by some means and continues to move due to its
own inertia
16. on a horizontal component what remains constant?
17. what changes in a vertical component?
19. what happens to the magnitude as the projectile moves up?
20. a component of a projectile
Down
1. does the horizontal "velocity" component change?
2. What remains constant in a horizontally launched projectile?
4. what happens to the magnitude as the projectile moves down?
5. how many components does a projectile have
7. in a horizontal component, does the direction change or remain constant?
8. a component of a projectile
9. what type of path is the trajectory?
11. what does not work horizontally to increase or decrease velocity
13. when launched at an angle, the velocity must be broken down into what?
14. in a vertically launched projectile, what decreases on the way upward?
18. what is y equal to when it begins and ends at ground level?
RANGE, TIME OF FLIGHT AND MAXIMUMHEIGHTS OF PROJECTILES
Imagine that you are throwing a dart at a target some distance away. Assume that the dart and the target are
at the same height above the ground as shown in the Figure 1. If the dart is aimed directly at the target, then
the dart will land at a lower point. Why is this so?
Figure 1. A dart thrown horizontally is an example of a projectile
As the dart leave your hand, the dart becomes a free body and falls toward the ground due to the pull of
gravity as it moves forward. This is why the dart in Figure 1 will not hit the target. Study Figure 2 and
compare it with Figure 1.
Figure 2. The upward velocity of the dart decreases as it approaches the highest point, after
which it gains downward velocity. Range dx is the horizontal distance the projectile travels
during the flight from the point where it is launched and the target point.
The motion of the dart in Figure 2 illustrates the second type of projectile motion. The projectile is launched
at an angle with an initial velocity that has two components: vertical and horizontal.
To compensate for the fall, the dart should be aimed at an angle Ɵ higher than the target point. This slightly
gives the dart an initial upward velocity. This velocity decreases as the dart approaches the highest point on
its path. At this point, the vertical velocity becomes zero and the dart starts to fall with an increasing vertical
velocity.
How do the launch angle and initial speed help to hit a target? Place a wastebasket on a chair. Get a small
plastic ball and throw it into the wastebasket at different speed and launch angles. The trajectory of the ball
depends on the launching speed and angle. A low, flat trajectory shot requires greater initial velocity than a
higher arching shot.
If you throw a ball at an angle Ɵ above the horizontal (e.g., the ground) with an initial velocity v0, the ball
will follow a parabolic path and then land at some point. To be able to determine how long the ball will stay
in the air or how far it will go, you need to break down the initial velocity into its horizontal and vertical
components. You can do this by constructing a right triangle and by using trigonometric functions or ratios
In finding the vertical and horizontal components of the initial velocity, the following equations are used:
where 𝒗𝟎𝒙 is the horizontal component (along x-direction) and 𝒗𝟎𝒚 is the vertical component (along y-
direction) of the initial velocity with a magnitude of 𝒗𝟎.
Figure 3 shows the range of horizontal distance dx covered by a dart at different launch angles at a constant
initial speed 𝒗𝟎. Notice that the maximum distance is achieved at an angle of 45˚ (neglecting air resistance).
At 45˚, the horizontal and vertical components of the initial velocity have the same magnitudes. At a larger
launch angle (e.g.,60˚), 𝒗𝒙 becomes less so the dart relatively covers a short range.
Figure 1. (a) A dart projected at different angles at the same initial speed; (b) the vertical and horizontal
components of the initial velocity at different launch angles
At 15˚ angle, 𝒗𝒚 is so small that the dart does not remain traveling in the air for a long time. Even if the dart
has a large horizontal velocity, its short time of flight suggests that it will not travel as far as when projected
at 45˚.
TABLE 1. Equations for Projectile Motion (Neglecting Air resistance)
Sample Problem
A baseball was hit and projected at an angle of 70˚ with the horizontal. If the initial velocity of the ball was
40 m/s (neglecting air friction), calculate the (a) time t the baseball was in the air, (b) horizontal distance dx
the ball traveled, and (c) maximum height dy the ball reached.
ACTIVITY
Calculate range, time of flight, and maximum heights of projectiles
Solve the following problems
1. A football is kicked with a velocity of 20 m/s at an angle of 37˚ with the horizontal. Determine:
a. maximum height reached by the ball
b. time of flight
c. horizontal distance traveled
2. A soldier fired his gun horizontally from the top of an 80 m high building with a velocity of 400 m/s.
Neglecting air friction, how far from the base of the building would the bullet land?
3. A baseball player hits a ball with an initial velocity of 32 m/s at an angle of 30˚. If air friction was
neglected, how far from the baseball player would the ball land from the ground?
