Physics Help
I had a lab on projectile motion a couple of days ago, and there's one question that I don't really understand.
It asks for the acceleration [i]during flight,[/i] but I don't really know what to put as the answer. I had asked my teacher already, and she specfically emphasized on the during flight part of the question. If it has to do with air resistance, it was not a part of the cirriculum so I haven't learned how to calculate it.
Thanks for your help.
November 6, 2013
5 Comments • Newest first
Alright, thanks to you two for your help!
@HateSpirit: What Darklerty is saying is correct (I remember it much better after reading her post). Most labs disregard air resistance for projectile motion, so I'd go with simply the downward acceleration due to gravity
In all projectile motion, the only acceleration the projectile experiences is the downward acceleration of gravity. The horizontal velocity component of the projectile will always be constant (assuming air resistance is negligible) throughout the flight.
EDIT: She probably emphasized during flight trying to tell you that the initial acceleration needed to launch your projectile off the ground from rest should not be considered. I'm 100% sure the acceleration in your lab was only acceleration due to gravity.
@DrHye Yeah, I understand that there is gravity and the horizontal velocity should be constant. I'm not sure if she was just trying to really confuse me, since she gave off the impression that those [i]weren't[/i] the answers. The projectile was a ping-pong ball.
What was the projectile?
The only acceleration I can think of (without seeing the lab) is the downward acceleration due to gravity, which is 9.8m/s/s aiming straight down