Freefall
A free fall is a downward motion without any initial force or velocity. Our earth has the inherent property of attracting items towards it. Hence a free fall is a natural phenomenon on earth for any object at any height without any support.
Free Fall Speed
Now we observe that in a free fall, the speed is not uniform. You might have observed that two stones dropped from different heights hit the ground with different velocities. The higher the height, greater is the speed of an object when it reaches the ground. It means that there is some acceleration is imparted on objects under free fall and the same is defined as ‘free fall acceleration’.
Free Fall Acceleration
Projectile motion
Consider the motion and path followed by the ball when it moves in the curved path. We will make two assumptions here:
a) First assumption is that the free fall acceleration (g) remains constant and does not change its value during the motion of the ball.
b) Resistance offered by the ball is negligible.
If we consider the motion and the assumptions stated above, we will find that :
Projectile motion is a two dimensional concept and it follows the two dimensional kinematics. A projectile has both the horizontal and the vertical components of motion.
Projectile motion can be stated as the:
Where,
y = height
t = time
a = acceleration of the projectile because of gravity
V0 = Initial velocity of the projectile
Y0 = Initial height of the projectile
For the vertical component of the velocity during the projectile motion, change in both the magnitude and direction takes place. If the projectile is moving in the upward direction, then the vertical component of the velocity is in the upward direction and decrease in its magnitude takes place.
Equations involving Vertical Motion | Equations involving Horizontal Motion | Explanation of Symbols used |
V(iy) = Vi sinθ | V(ix) = Vi cosθ |
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V(fy) = V(iy) + ay t | V(fx) = V(ix) |
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Yf – Yi = V(iy) t + ½ayt2 | Xf – Xi = V(ix) t |
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(Vfy)2 = (V(iy))2 + 2ay(Yf– Yi) |
Symbols already described above | |
Yf – Yi=t.½(V(iy)+V(fy)) |
Symbols already described above |
Maximum Projectile Range : Expression
Now, lets look at the expression for projectile range using the above formula, Let the projectile start at (0, Yi) co-ordinates with a speed of Vi = v, and angle θ with the horizontal surface. After some time t, it strikes the ground at a distance of Xf. The value of Xf gives the range of the projectile
The figure given below aids the visualization of the motion :
In this figure, the range of the projectile is given by the formula,
d = Xf = ((Vcosθ)/g) (Vsinθ+√{(Vsinθ)²+2gYi)})
Using the above equation one can make a graph of `theta` versus `d` for different `theta`, and see where the value of `d` maximizes. This will be the value of maximum projectile range. Moreover, this equation reduces to a very simple form when the projectile starts form ground level, that is when YiYi = 0.
The equation then becomes :
Using the above equation we can very easily find the expression for maximum projectile range in this simple situation. We know that the maximum value of sin 2θ is 1.
Therefore, the maximum range of the projectile is
d = Xf = V²/g
Also, the value of 2θ for which sin 2θ = 1 is 90°. Therefore, the value of θ = 90/2 = 45°
This is a type of Projectile motion in which projectile does not follow path in the upward direction or it does not have upward trajectory and the initial velocity of the projectile is also zero. This type of projectile motion is called horizontal projectile motion. This motion generally occurs when the projectile is shot straight without forming any angle with the horizontal surface and the projectile falls downward until it hits the ground.
Exemplary Horizontal Projectile motion is shown in the figure below.
The figure above illustrates a body thrown horizontally from a point O with a velocity The point O is at a certain height above the ground. Let x and y be the horizontal and vertical distances covered by the projectile, respectively, in time t. Therefore, at time t, the projectile is at p.
In order to calculate x, let us consider the horizontal motion, which is uniform motion. This is because the only force acting on the projectile is the force of gravity. This force acts vertically downwards and hence the horizontal component in zero. Therefore, the equations of motion of the projectile for the horizontal direction is just the equation of uniform motion in a straight line.
∴ x = vt —————— (i)
In order to calculate y, the vertical motion of the projectile is considered. Since the vertical motion is controlled by the force of gravity, it is an accelerated motion. The initial velocity, vy (0), in the vertically downward direction is zero. Since the Y-axis in the figure above is taken downwards, the downward direction is regarded as the positive direction. So, the acceleration of the projectile is + g.
∴ from the equation
y(t) = Vy(0)t + ½ ay t2
We have y(t) = ½ gt2 ————-(2)
Here vy (0) is taken as zero because both distance and time are being measured from the origin O.
From equation (1)
t = x/v
Substituting for t from the above equation in equation (2) we have,
y(t) = ½g(x/v)² = ( g/2v² )x2
∴ y = kx2 Where k = g/2v²……………..(3)
is a constant for a projectile projected upwards with a definite velocity v and at a place with a definite value of ‘g’.
Equation (3) is a second-degree equation in x, a first-degree equation in y and is the equation of a parabola. Therefore, a body thrown horizontally from a certain height above the ground follows a parabolic trajectory till it hits the ground.
Resultant Velocity of a Horizontal Projectile:
In this section, let us calculate the resultant velocity of the projectile V⃗ V→, at any point p on the trajectory, in an interval of time t. Vxand Vy are the horizontal and vertical components of V⃗ V→ as illustrated in the figure below.
Since, the horizontal motion of the projectile is uniform, V⃗ x = V⃗
However, the motion in the vertical direction is an acceleration one.
∴∴ Vy(t) = Vy (0) + ay t
Since O is considered to be the origin, Vy (0) = 0
∴∴ Vv (t) = gt
∴∴ The magnitude of the resultant velocity V⃗ is given by,
|V⃗ | = V =√ (V²x+V²y)
∴ V = √(V²+g²t²)
The direction is given by tanβ = Vy/Vx= gt/V
∴β = tan-1 (gt/V)
Motion -The change of position of a body with time is called motion.
It was Galileo who first realized that motion of a body is independent of its mass, it is the change of state of motion or state of rest.
Inertia
A body is said to possess a property called inertia The inertia of a body is measured by its reluctance to change its state of motion or state of rest. Examples
Newton’s first law
A body continues its state of rest or moves with uniform velocity unless acted on by some external force.
Linear momentum
Linear momentum is a vector quantity defined as the product of an object’s mass m and its velocity v. Linear momentum is denoted by the letter p .
Note that a body’s momentum is always in the same direction as its velocity vector. The units of momentum are kg m/s.
Newton’s second law
The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the external force acting on the body and change in momentum takes place in the direction of force.
Newton’s third law
Whenever an object exerts a force on another object,the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.These are called action, reaction. For every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.
Note
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion.It comes to existence at the common boundary of two bodies in contact when one of them either moves or tends to move relative to other. Friction acts tangental to the surface and it is directed such that it opposes relative motion.
The surface of a body is never perfectly smooth, little prominences and hollows are always present.When two body is in contact the prominences of one are interlocked with hollows of other.In the relative motion of the bodies these little prominences are deformed and give rise to frictional forces.
Sliding friction
When a body slides over another body , the force that opposes relative motion is called sliding friction.
Specific examples of sliding friction include:
Rolling friction
When a round object rolls over some surface then rolling friction comes into play.Rolling friction is much smaller than sliding friction.
When two bodies that are in contact with each other and move rubbing the surfaces that are in contact, the friction existing between them is called kinetic friction. The direction of the force is such that the relative slipping is opposed by the retarding force .
Note-The coefficient of friction does not depend upon the speed of the sliding bodies. If the surfaces are smooth then it will be small, and it will be large if the surface is rough
Fs = μs R
where,
μ is is the Coefficient of Static friction
R is the Normal reaction
Limiting frictional force between two given surfaces depend on the normal reaction between them.To investigate relationship do an experiment with known masses placed on the block.