Projectile Motion Concept

Demonstrations in Projectile Motion

Four multicolored bean-bag style juggling balls on a gray surface

Juggling Balls

Lightweight, non-bouncing balls for demonstrating 1D and 2D motion with little risk of damage. Can be thrown from rest or from a moving cart to show projectile motion and relative …
PASCO ME-9486 Ballistic Cart Accessory with black base, yellow foam-lined catch basin at top, clear launch barrel with yellow balls visible, index card inserted in photogate trigger, and control panel with caution warning
Safety

Cart with Cannon

A ball launched vertically from a moving cart follows a parabolic arc in the lab frame but travels straight up and down in the cart's frame — and lands back …
Light blue PVC cannon tube with basketball seated in top, mounted on black physicist's skateboard, with green ethanol spray bottle, propane torch, and white Trek bicycle helmet
Safety

Basketball Cannon Cart

A basketball fired vertically from a moving cart lands back in the cannon, demonstrating that projectile trajectory depends on the observer's reference frame. From the cart's frame the ball goes …
PASCO cannon cart on an inclined black track with vertical launch barrel, spirit level below the track, lower end nesting into a clear plastic bin lined with green eggshell foam

Cannon Cart on Incline

A spring-loaded cart launches a ball vertically while rolling down an incline. The ball lands back in the cart's funnel, showing that both share the same gravitational acceleration component along …
Cannon cart with spring-loaded cannon at rear of lecture table, mass set with hooks, two bench clamp stands mounting a pulley with white cord, ring clamp anchor at far end, and brass hanging mass below the pulley
Safety

Accelerated Cannon Cart

A hanging mass accelerates a cannon cart via a pulley; when the cannon fires, the ball's horizontal velocity is constant while the cart continues accelerating, so the ball lands behind …
Free fall apparatus with a horizontal brass rod holding two steel balls on a green and black base, spring-loaded launch mechanism on one end, vertical trigger lever hanging below

Vertical, Projectile Free Fall

Demonstrates that horizontal and vertical motion are independent. One ball is launched horizontally while an identical ball is dropped simultaneously — both hit the ground at the same time, showing …
Air gun with labeled switch and telescope sight, circular target disk, DC power supply reading 6.47V, stuffed monkey in green catch basin
Safety

Monkey and Hunter

Demonstrates the independence of horizontal and vertical motion in projectile trajectories. A ball bearing is fired at an electromagnet-held target that drops the instant the gun fires — both fall …
Spring-loaded tennis ball launcher: bright green tube with orange tip mounted on a wooden platform, Johnson angle locator attached, metal support rod setting the angle, tennis ball at the base, platform clamped to bench with two clamps
Safety

Tennis Ball Trajectory

Demonstrates the predictability of projectile motion. Students observe how launch angle affects range and trajectory shape, reinforcing independence of horizontal and vertical motion components.