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SCIENCE PROJECT
How to find maximum height of a projectile
Ever wanted to know how high and how fast you can kick a football? Turns out, it’ s pretty easy to figure out. All you need to know is how far away from you the ball lands and how much time it spends in the air( the“ hang time”). Combine these two simple measurements with a little bit of physics and you can start competing with your friends to see who can kick the highest or the fastest! This can be done by finding the maximum height of a projectile. But before going to find maximum height first understand the definition of projectile?
WHAT IS A PROJECTILE?
A projectile is any object that once projected or dropped continues in motion by its own inertia and is influenced only by the downward force of gravity. The only force acting on the projectile is the force of gravity. If there were any other force acting upon an object, then that object would not be a projectile.
Gravity acts to influence the vertical motion of the projectile, thus causing a vertical acceleration. The horizontal motion of the projectile is the result of the tendency of any object in motion to remain in motion at constant velocity. Due to the absence of horizontal forces, a projectile remains in motion with a constant horizontal velocity. Horizontal forces are not required to keep a projectile moving horizontally. The only force acting upon a projectile is gravity!
There are a variety of examples of projectiles. An object dropped from rest is a projectile( provided that the influence of air resistance is negligible). An object that is thrown vertically upward is also a projectile( provided that the influence of air resistance is negligible). And an object which is thrown upward at an angle to the horizontal is also a projectile( provided that the influence of air resistance is negligible). Now here is an example to find maximum height of a projectile when you kicked a foot ball.
HOW CAN YOU FIND A PROJECTILE’ S MAXIMUM HEIGHT?
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Given the hang time and distance travelled of a football, figure out how high it went, how fast you kicked it, and the angle at which it left the ground.
PROCEDURE
1. Kick the ball and at the same time, start the stopwatch. This is where a friend can come in handy. Have them hold the ball and work the timer so you can focus all your energy on giving the ball the best
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WINSPIRE: Empowering youth | January, 2017