ExamiQ PM-1 · Projectile motion unit
Class 11 Physics ← Physics

Mechanics · Motion in two dimensions

Projectile motion

Make a prediction, test the motion, then explain what happens at the apex.

  1. 1Predict
  2. 2Observe
  3. 3Spatial Lab
  4. 4Recall
5Transfer · bonus
Progress 0 of 4 stages complete

Plate 1 · Side view, to scale

The flight

Speed u22 m/s
MODE 1 · PREDICT Projectile trajectory display A projectile follows a parabolic trajectory from the origin. The horizontal axis shows distance in metres and the vertical axis shows height in metres. The latest launch is drawn as a strobe of positions every 0.25 seconds with velocity arrows; faint traces show earlier launches; a dashed arrow shows your predicted launch angle.
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Speed is locked so that only the angle changes between launches.u = 22 m/s

Make a prediction to unlock the simulator controls.

Measurements

Angle θ—
Speed u22 m/s
Time t—
x · y (m)—
Range R—
Max height h—
Flight time T—
Launches0
Step 1 of 4 · Predict

Predict the trajectory

Before testing the simulator: which launch angle produces the maximum horizontal range?

Experiment log

Envelope unlocks after you launch 2 different angles.

#θR (m)h (m)T (s)
No launches yet.

Spatial lab · 3D view

See the motion in space

Change one variable at a time. Launch angle θ changes the shape of the arc; speed u changes its size, and range R grows with the square of speed. Aim direction only turns the path across the ground; watch the range stay the same. This browser demo works without a Python backend.

LIVE MODEL

Fixed scale: every launch is drawn at the same metres-per-pixel, so a faster launch is visibly longer. The faint dashed path is your previous setting.

Max height h— m
Ground range R— m
Flight time T— s

Model note: step-by-step numerical integration (5 ms steps) with g = 9.8 m/s² and a quadratic drag term, acceleration = −k·|v|·v. Mass is folded into k, which is a teaching parameter, not a calibrated real-world coefficient. With k = 0 the result agrees with R = u²·sin 2θ / g to better than a millimetre. With k > 0 there is no simple formula; checked against a high-precision reference, the range is within about 1% (at most 0.3 m) across all slider settings, typically under 0.1% at k = 0.010. View: oblique (cabinet) projection. Distances along the front edge and heights match the scale bar; the receding direction is drawn at half scale, so read distances from the labels, not by eye.