Projectile Motion Examples

Here we will explore the projectile motion examples that we encounter in real life from cricket to golf to basketball to volleyball.

So, Let’s begin…

Projectile Motion in Cricket

Here the fielder threw the ball at a very small angle with the horizontal. Can you guess why? 

Well, he had little time to hit the bails, in other words, ball had to travel a good distance along the ground in a fairly short period of time, so by keeping the projection angle $\theta$ small, he was able to give the ball a good horizontal speed, $u_x$ and he kept the projection angle just enough for the ball directly hit the balls (i.e. without hitting the ground first)

What do you think, would have been his strategy if he was near the boundary? (drop in a comment below)

Now, let’s examine the projectile motion of a golf ball.

Projectile Motion in Golf

Here the golf player chose a fairly large projection angle, $\theta$, instead of choosing a smaller angle $90^\circ – \theta$ to get the same range. Why do you think that is?

Well, the player has two objectives here: 1) golf ball should cover the desired distance and 2) the ball should stop fairly quickly after it hits the grass. 

His 1st objective is achieved by right combination of initial velocity and projection angle and as for the 2nd objective, choosing a larger projection angle results in smaller horizontal speed which allows the ball to stop quicker once it hits the ground and begins to roll.

What do you think? Leave us a comment.!

Now, let’s see Lebron James execute a long throw with perfection.

Projectile Motion in Basketball

Do you think the launch height of the basketball (when thrown by Lebron James in this clip) almost same as the landing or rim height? And do you think it gives taller player an advantage in long throws? Leave a comment below.!

With that, let’s look at the game of volleyball, wherein, the volleyball is continuously in projectile motion(s) during the play.

Projectile Motion in Volleyball

Wow.! While this video shows some great comebacks, look at the jumps during the serve. This gives the volleyball an almost horizontal projection with great speed.

What were some of your observations?

With that, now let’s explore projectile motion along the incline.

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