Projectile Motion Kit - ME-1262

This kit has everything you need to perform classic projectile motion experiments by marking landing points of the ball using carbon paper and measuring the starting height and the horizontal distance traveled with a meter stick.

In addition, students can measure the initial speed of the ball using a photogate and measure the time-of-flight as the ball hits the pad which is plugged into the photogate.

Examine how the range is affected by launch angle. The Mini Launcher is ideal for table-top experiments because its bracket allows it to launch the ball from table-top level.

This apparatus can even be used to do a simple Conservation of Energy experiment. The launcher is pointed straight up and the students measure the initial speed of the ball as it is launched and the maximum height the ball achieves as kinetic energy is turned into gravitational potential energy.

Every PASCO projectile launcher includes a 2-D Collision Accessory which holds a second ball at a position just outside the muzzle so that the ball being launched from the projectile launcher will strike the second ball. This two-dimensional collision causes the two balls to strike the table at different places. Students can measure the distances and the angles to determine the velocities of the balls after the collision and can perform conservation of momentum calculations.

To challenge students, have them clamp the launcher at fixed distance from a wall and ask them to vary the angle of the launcher until the ball reaches the maximum height possible as it hits the wall. This is not just the maximum height of the trajectory.