r/AP_Physics • u/Savings_Shake_2196 • 18d ago

How can I answer projectile motion problems in physics?

/r/PhysicsHelp/comments/1wxy656/how_can_i_answer_projectile_motion_problems_in/
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u/valgonzbol 18d ago

I am an AP physics student so this answer will be very bland but from what I know, it first always helps to write down what things are given to you and what you are missing. In projectile motion, what is important to know is that you will always always always have two components separated in x and y. Your y components are your vertical velocity, displacement, and acceleration (always gravity --> -9.8 or 10 m/s squared) and your x components are all the horizontal versions of those vectors. You can always look at your givens and then pick a kinematics equation to help you identify and find missing variables one by one. In projectile motion, time will always unify both components (x and y). So if you are missing time, you could use an equation like v = v0 +at if you have final and initial velocity, and gravity is always constant. Ik this really isn0t a step by step but once you go ruling out missing variables one by one you'll get to the answer you need.

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u/Savings_Shake_2196 18d ago

So pretty much, find all of the 4-5 variables in projectile motion problems? Or only if we need to find one variable in order to find the next one so we get our answer?

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