7
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Course: Applied Physics Section: BEE-14B
Group: B-9 Lab Report: Mini Launcher
Date: 12/10/2022 School Name: SEECS
Name CMS ID
M. Hamza Ijaz 413624
M. Abubakr Hashim 411421
M. Abdullah 410849
Kamran Ahmad 414137
Submitted To: ______________________________
Experiment no.1: Projectile Motion
Abstract:
The aim of this experiment is to predict and verify the range of a ball
launched at an angle in projectile motion. We determine the initial velocity
horizontally when the launcher is shot and thus use it to calculate its range.
And then we determine the percentage difference between the theoretical
value of range and the experimental value of range.
APPARATUS:
1. Mini Launcher and steel ball
2. Plumb bob
3. Meter rule
4. Carbon paper
5. White paper
THEORY:
Projectile motion: Two-dimensional motion of a body along the horizontal
and vertical axis, under action of gravity.
Range: Maximum distance which a projectile covers in the horizontal direction.
To predict where a ball will land on the floor when it is shot off a table at an angle,
the initial speed of the ball must, first, be determined. It can be calculated by
launching the ball horizontally off the table and measuring the vertical and
horizontal distances through which the ball travels. Then the initial velocity can
be used to calculate where the ball will land when the ball is shot at an angle.
For a ball launched horizontally off a table with an initial speed, νo, the horizontal
distance travelled by the ball is given by
𝑥 = ν𝑜 × t ;
where t is the time the ball is in the air.
The above mentioned formula is used to calculate the distance in a one-
dimensional motion. For a 2-D motion, the horizontal distance is given by
𝑥 = ν𝑜 cos 𝜃 × t
The vertical distance the ball drops in time t is given by
1
𝑦𝑓 = 𝑦𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2 ;
2
where 𝑦𝑜 is the initial height of the ball.
As the final height, 𝑦𝑓 , of the projectile is zero, the equation above is reduced to
1
0 = 𝑦𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2
2
Initially, the ball is shot horizontally and so, 𝜃 = 0°. The equation becomes
1 2
𝑦𝑜 = 𝑔𝑡
2
The time of flight of the ball can be found using
2𝑦𝑜
𝑡=√
𝑔
and then the initial velocity can be found using
𝑥
= ν𝑜 cos 𝜃;
t
where cos 𝜃 = 1 for 𝜃 = 0°, and
𝑥 is the horizontal distance between the mini launcher and where the ball lands
on the floor
In order to predict range, 𝑥, of the launched ball with an initial velocity, we find
the time of flight of the ball shot at an angle, θ, using the formula
1
0 = 𝑦𝑜 + 𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡 2
2
Then use
𝑥𝑡ℎ = 𝑣𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 × 𝑡
to can find the range. If the ball is shot at an angle below the horizontal, then θ
is negative.
In the end, we evaluate the percentage error between the theoretical and
experimental values of range by
𝑥𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 − 𝑥𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙
% 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = × 100%
𝑥𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙
Procedure Part A:
Determining the Initial Velocity of the Ball
• Put the ball into the Mini Launcher and cock it to the Short range so that
the 16mm falls on the table top . Fire one shot to locate where the ball
hits the floor. At this position, tape a piece of white paper (A4 paper) to
the floor. Place a piece of carbon paper (carbon-side down) on top of this
paper and tape it . When the ball hits the floor, it will leave a mark on the
white paper.
• Fire about 5 shots.
• Measure the vertical distance from the bottom of the ball as it leaves the
barrel (this position is marked on the side of the barrel) to the floor.
Measure this distance.
• Use a plumb bob to find the point on the floor that is directly beneath the
release point on the barrel. Measure the horizontal distance along the
floor from the release point to the leading edge of the paper.
• Measure from the leading edge of the paper to each of the 5 dots and
record these distances
• Find the average of the 5 distances and record the value
• Using the vertical distance and the average horizontal distance, calculate
the time of flight and the initial velocity of the ball
• Calculate the Total Average Distance.
Calculations and Readings:
For Angle = 0° :
No. of Measurements Distance (cm)
X1 90.6
X2 90.8
X3 90.4
XAvg 90.6
Average distance in metre is 0.906m
𝑦 = 0.3592𝑚
2𝑦
𝑡=√
𝑔
2 × 0.355
𝑡=√
9.8
𝑡 = 0.27𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑥0
𝑣0 =
𝑡
0.906
𝑉𝑜 =
0.27
𝑣0 = 3.356𝑚𝑠 −1
Part B: Predicting the Range of the Ball Shot at an Angle
• Adjust the Mini Launcher to launch at an angle between 20 and 60
degrees above the horizontal. Record this angle in.
• Using the initial velocity and vertical distance found in the first part of
this experiment, calculate the new time of flight and the new horizontal
range for a projectile launched at the new angle. Record in.
• Draw a line across the middle of a white piece of paper and tape the
paper on the floor so the line is at the predicted horizontal distance from
the Mini Launcher. Cover the paper with carbon paper.
• Shoot the ball ten times.
• Measure the ten distances and take the average.
Part B: Predicting the Range of the Ball Shot at an Angle
• Adjust the Mini Launcher to launch at an angle between 20 and 60
degrees above the horizontal. Record this angle.
• Using the initial velocity and vertical distance found in the first part of
this experiment, calculate the new time of flight and the new horizontal
range for a projectile launched at the new angle. Record it.
• Draw a line across the middle of a white piece of paper and tape the
paper on the floor so the line is at the predicted horizontal distance from
the Mini Launcher. Cover the paper with carbon paper (carbon side
down).
• Shoot the ball 5 times.
• Measure the 5 distances and take the average.
No. of Measurements Distances (cm)
X1 138.3
X2 138.5
X3 138.9
XAvg 138.5667
𝑥0
𝑣0 =
𝑡
1.3856
𝑣0 =
0.27
𝑣0 = 5.1321𝑚𝑠 −1
Theoretical value:
𝑣0 sin 𝜃 ± √𝑣𝑜 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜃 + 2𝑔 ∗ 𝑦
𝑡=
𝑔
Putting 𝜃 = 30°, 𝑣𝑜 = 5.1321 , 𝑦 = 0.3592 we get,
𝑡 = 0.49𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑥 = (𝑣𝑜 cos 𝜃) 𝑡
Putting the values in equation above, we get
𝑥 = 1.4𝑚
Error:
𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 − 𝑥𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑
𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100
𝑥𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑
Putting the values,
𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 1.034%
Part C: Predicting the Range of the Ball Shot at a Negative Angle
• Adjust the Mini Launcher to launch at an angle between 10 and 40
degrees below the horizontal and record this angle.
• Using the initial velocity and vertical distance found in the first part of
this experiment, calculate the new time of flight and the new horizontal
range for a projectile launched at the new angle.
• Draw a line across the middle of a white piece of paper and tape the paper
on the floor so the line is at the predicted horizontal distance from the
Mini Launcher. Cover the paper with carbon paper.
• Shoot the ball ten times.
• Measure the 5 distances and take the average.
Experiment 3: Projectile Range versus Angle:
Abstract:
The purpose of this experiment is to find the range of the projectile at different
angles when it is projected from the surface and off the surface. Range of a
projectile is basically dependent on the angle of projection. The angle that gives
the maximum range will be determined in two cases, i.e. launching the
projectile from the level of the table and off the table
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
• A mini Launcher
• Meter stick
• Steel ball (16mm)
• Carbon paper
• White paper
• Graph Paper
Theory:
Range is the horizontal distance between the muzzle of the projector and the point
where the ball lands.
Range is calculated by formula: x = (𝑣0 cosθ)*t
Where,
x= range of the projectile
𝒗𝟎= Initial velocity of the ball when it leaves the launcher
θ= angle of inclination
And
t = time of flight
Shooting off the table:
For the case when the ball is projected off the table, i.e. from some height on the
surface of the table time of flight can be found by using the equation of motion
for the vertical motion.
1
Y = 𝑦0 + ( 𝑣0 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃) − 𝑔𝑡 2
2
Where
𝑦0 = Initial height of the projectile
Y= position of ball when it hits the ground
𝑣0 = Initial velocity of the ball
g= gravitational constant
Shooting on the table:
When the ball is projected at the same elevation,
𝑣0 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
Time of flight will be given as: t= 2𝑡𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 = 2
𝑔
𝑣0 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
Time of flight will be given as: t= 2𝑡𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 = 2
𝑔
Setup (Shooting off the table):
1. Clamp the mini launcher off the table and aim it in such a way that the ball
hits on the table.
2. Adjust the angles of the mini launcher.
3. Put the steel ball in the mini launcher and set it for short range at angles
with difference of 10.
Procedure:
1. First of all after setting the mini launcher fire the ball at some specific angle
to know where the ball will hit the table.
2. Now place a white paper and fix it with tape, Place a carbon paper (carbon
side down) on it and launch the ball.
3. Fire about minimum 5 shots for each angle.
4. Measure the horizontal distance between the launcher and the point where
the ball hit the table.
5. After measuring the values put them in table and draw graph.
Angle(θ) 20 ° 30 ° 40 ° 50 ° 60 ° 70 ° 80 °
1. 1.17 1.33 1.389 1.312 1.155 0.822 0.402
2. 1.192 1.32 1.39 1.32 1.14 0.809 0.385
3. 1.205 1.315 1.393 1.329 1.141 0.807 0.399
4. 1.199 1.312 1.375 1.322 1.16 0.829 0.4
5. 1.21 1.322 1.384 1.321 1.139 0.823 0.403
Avg 1.192 1.319 1.384 1.3208 1.147 0.818 0.3972
value
All the measurements are made in meter (m).
Setup (Shooting on the table):
1. Clamp mini launcher with the one end of the table with the launcher
2. Adjust the angle of the mini launcher.
3. Put the steel ball into the Mini Launcher and launch it to the chosen
position. aimed so that the ball after shooting lands on the table.
Procedure:
1. First of all shot the ball at some specific angle to get know its position
of hitting the table.
2. After that place and tape down the white paper at that position and also
place a carbon paper on it in this way when the ball will hit, it will leave
a mark on the white paper.
3. Fire about five shots for each angle.
4. Measure the horizontal distance from the launch position of the ball to
the mark on the white paper.
5. Record all the distances in the form of a table.
6. Then take the average of the distances measured at each angle
Angle(θ) 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
1. 0.54 0.88 1.07 1.085 1.07 0.793 0.479
2. 0.535 0.875 1.065 1.09 1.055 0.798 0.469
3. 0.54 0.853 1.062 1.092 1.06 0.83 0.489
4. 0.52 0.86 1.05 1.091 1.02 0.827 0.485
5. 0.515 0.859 1.04 1.1 1.01 0.828 0.482
Avg 0.53 0.8654 1.0574 1.0754 1.037 0.8152 0.4808
Value
All the measurements are taken in metre
Graph of range to angle:
Shooting on the table:
Shooting off the table:
1.6
1.4
1.2
Distannce (m)
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
Angle (θ)
Discussion:
Q.1 From the graph, what angle gives the maximum range for each
case?
Ans: For shooting off the table the range
Shooting on a level surface: 45°
Shooting off the table: 43°
Q.2 Is the angle for the maximum range greater or less for shooting off
the table?
Ans: It is approximately the same for both cases small differences are
neglected.
Q.3 Is the maximum range further when the ball is shot off the table or
on the level surface?
Ans: It is further when the ball is shot off the table which can be verified from
the above table records.
CONCLUSION:
In this experiment, we inspected the relationship between range of a ball and the
angle it is shot at. We observed the relationship between range and angle for two
cases: while shooting on the table and off the table. We observed that the range
increases till an angle of 45° and then decreases as the angle increases up to 80°.
Hence the theoretical value of the angle for maximum range we predicted from
𝑣 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛2𝜃
𝑅= was proved. By plotting a graph between range and angle we
𝑔
verified that a projectile follows a parabolic trajectory. In this way, we analyzed
both half and full projectile motions, considering their ranges and the angle they
were shot at. Another conclusion that we made was that the maximum range of
the projectile projected from off the level was greater than the maximum range
from projectile projected from the level.
