Nuffield Free-Standing Mathematics Activity
Projectile problems
© Nuffield Foundation 2011
Projectile problems
Where should the players
be to catch the ball?
How long will the ball be in
the air for?
The projectile model
allows you to answer these
questions and many
similar ones.
Projectile problems
Think about:
How would you solve these:
45 ms–1
20⁰
Where will the ball be 2 seconds later?
What is the greatest height the ball will reach?
How long will the ball be in the air?
How far will it travel horizontally before it hits the ground?
When will the ball reach a height of 10 metres?
The ball is hit towards a 12 metre tree which is 80 metres from
the golfer. Will the ball pass over the tree or hit it?
Projectile problems
15 ms–1
8
Think about:
How would you work out when and
where the ball will hit the ground?
1.2 m
Projectile problems
Reflect on your work
How does separating the vertical and horizontal
motion help you to solve the problems?
What affects the time of flight of a projectile?
What modelling assumptions have you made?