Mechanics
Projectile motion
Watch the parabolic arc as gravity curves the path down.
Free interactive projectile motion simulation for high school and AP Physics. Launch objects at any angle, watch the parabolic trajectory, and read live horizontal and vertical velocity, range, and time of flight in SI units.
Independence of motion
Horizontal and vertical motion are independent. The horizontal speed stays constant (ignoring air resistance) while gravity pulls the object downward.
Galileo showed that a projectile's horizontal motion does not affect its vertical fall. You can treat the motion as two separate problems: constant velocity along x, and constant acceleration along y due to gravity. Combining them traces a parabola.
- x = v₀ cos θ · t
- y = v₀ sin θ · t − ½gt²
- Range R ≈ (v₀² sin 2θ) / g
Investigation brief
Plan the question before you open the lab
The brief mirrors the prerendered page: driving question, competing predictions, variable roles, governing laws, setup, analysis and extension prompts remain visible and in this order.
Driving question
If you launch the ball faster, how will its kinetic energy at launch and its maximum height change?
Predictions to weigh
- Both increase
- They stay the same
- Kinetic energy increases but height stays the same
Variable roles
What you set:
- Mass m (kg)
- Launch speed v (m/s)
What you measure:
- KE = ½mv² (J)
- Max height h (m)
How the investigation runs
- Open the projectile simulation and press Reset.
- Enable the speed probe and the height readout — height is measured from the FLOOR, not the launch point, so it includes the ball's fixed 1.2 m launch height.
- Set the launch speed for each trial below, press Play, and record the peak values.
Governing equation
Kinetic Energy — KE = ½·m·v²
The energy of motion at launch, from the mass and launch speed you set for each trial.
Gravitational Potential Energy — PE = m·g·h
The energy stored at the ball's peak height, read from the ball's height above the FLOOR — not above the launch point. Because this launch is angled (not straight up), only the vertical component of the launch velocity converts to extra rise above launch: it carries 64% of the launch KE at this angle (the rest stays horizontal motion, still present at the peak). But the readout's height also includes the ball's fixed 1.2 m launch height above the floor, so PE at peak is m·g·(1.2 m + rise) — not simply 0.64× the launch KE, and the ratio between them changes with speed rather than staying fixed.
What the printable worksheet asks students to work out
- Show your work computing KE = ½mv² for one trial and compare it to the simulation's kinetic-energy readout.
- Describe the relationship between launch kinetic energy and maximum height. Is it linear? Cite numbers from your table.
Where this shows up beyond the lab
- At a fixed speed, what launch angle gives the greatest maximum height? Explain why.
- Real projectiles don't reach the height your table predicts. Where does the missing energy go?
- AP Physics 1 — Unit 1: Kinematics
- AP Physics C: Mechanics — Unit 1: Kinematics
- IB Physics — A.1 Kinematics
- General High School Physics — Motion & kinematics
- NGSS High School Physics — Forces and Newton's second law
- Predict: what happens to maximum height?
- Change: set the launch speed to 8 m/s
- Run: capture two trials
- Read the graph
- Explain: what did you observe?
Open the interactive simulation to build the scene, press Play, and explore with live measurements and a guided tutorial.