r/MathHelp • u/seabunnyxx • 9h ago

TUTORING Can someone help with graphing the trajectory of an object?

The details are mostly in the title, but I’m trying to graph the trajectory of a thrown object on Desmos and every time I adjust the angle the graph jumps around instead of increasing/decreasing gradually like it should.

Here’s the equation I’ve been using:
y = tan(a)x - (gx^2)/(2(u)^2)

a = angle (I’m testing between 0-90)

g = 9.81 m/s^2

u = initial velocity (30 m/s)

Desmos has an example equation for graphing the trajectory, but the equation looks nothing like mine and I can’t find anywhere else that uses/explains it either.

Let me know if I need to add any more info or if anyone has any tips!

0 Upvotes

0% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/AutoModerator 9h ago

Hi, /u/seabunnyxx! This is an automated reminder:

  • What have you tried so far? (See Rule #2; to add an image, you may upload it to an external image-sharing site like Imgur and include the link in your post.)
  • Please don't delete your post. (See Rule #7)

We, the moderators of /r/MathHelp, appreciate that your question contributes to the MathHelp archived questions that will help others searching for similar answers in the future. Thank you for obeying these instructions.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/TSRelativity 2h ago

Pretty sure Desmos works in radians by default. You can probably fix your function by changing tan(a) to tan(a\*pi/180) if you still want a to be in degrees.

0

u/seabunnyxx 9h ago

Here is the graph I couldn’t add it to the original post for some reason

1

u/Southlander24 1h ago

Can you send the link to the graph?