Application Physics #3

Projectile Motion 

    A projectile motion is an object upon which the only force acting is gravity, in this case the payload is a projectile, due to the fact that once the force is acted upon it then it will be air bound therefore the only force acting on it would be gravity. The only thing acting on the water balloon, or any payload, is its inertia and gravity, therefore Newton’s first and second law come into play. Some variables that exist for projectile motion are air resistance, projectile speed, projectile angle and gravity. The air resistance would move against the projectile the amount of air resistance is determined through the mass of the object and other factors, in this example it could be the wind. Another variable is the projectile angle of the projection, the path that the object takes is usually determined by what angle it was launched at, usually 45 degree angles work the best because it is not to high or low. The projectile speed would be the amount of velocity the object has, if it is high then it will go further. Gravity is what ultimately pulls the path of the projectile closer and closer to the ground, without it it would go on indefinitely. 

    A way to modify the projectile motion is by decreasing the air resistance by performing launch in a windless room with little outside forces other than the ones already present. The other modification would be the projectile angle, if the angle is set to launch at 45 degrees than there projectile will reach maximum distance from the catapult.