Projectile Motion Reflection on Learning

Our class discussed and experimented with the concept of projectile motion. We articulated our understanding of the conceptual aspect of projectile motion by writing on a whiteboard.

Using the Video Physics App on our iPads we recorded and analyzed the path of a basketball shot into the air. The app created graphs based off of the ball's trajectory.

The graphs demonstrate that the basketball moves in two dimensions, horizontal (Vx) and vertical (Vy),  and that gravity is the only force acting upon the object. The basketball shares similar traits to that of a projective which is defined as an object that moves in 2D with only the force of gravity acting.

The graphs also indicate that the basketball, and projectiles in general, move at constant velocity as indicated by the constant slope of they graph in the upper right corner. When the averages of the slope were averaged out among the class, the result was a slope of 10.2. This number is consistent with the gravitational force of the earth which is generally 10 N/kg.

In this experiment, human error was a major factor because the measuring of the ball's trajectory was done manually.