Go to content
When working with projectile problems, the two most useful equations of motion are:
v = u + at and s = ut + \frac{1}{2}at^2 .
Remember that when the vertical component of velocity is positive, the particle is rising. At the instant this component is 0, the particle is at maximum height. When the vertical component of velocity is negative, the particle is falling.

For a projectile, the horizontal component of velocity is constant.

You can get a better display of the maths by downloading special TeX fonts from jsMath. In the meantime, we will do the best we can with the fonts you have, but it may not be pretty and some equations may not be rendered correctly.

## Glossary

### constant

a value in a formula or equation that cannot change.

### particle

an object with negligible size and internal structure, which can be represented by a point; the fundamental assumption in mechanics.

### projectile

a body moving in a gravitational field under free fall

### union

The union of two sets A and B is the set containing all the elements of A and B.

### velocity

the rate of change of displacement. It is a vector quantity with magnitude and direction.

Full Glossary List

## This question appears in the following syllabi:

SyllabusModuleSectionTopic
AQA A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M1KinematicsProjectiles
AQA A2 Maths 2017MechanicsKinematicsProjectiles
AQA AS/A2 Maths 2017MechanicsKinematicsProjectiles
CCEA A-Level (NI)M2KinematicsProjectiles
CIE A-Level (UK)M2KinematicsProjectiles
Q Mechanics - KinematicsQ5 ProjectilesProjectiles
Edexcel A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M2KinematicsProjectiles
Edexcel A2 Maths 2017MechanicsProjectilesProjectiles
Edexcel AS/A2 Maths 2017MechanicsProjectilesProjectiles
OCR A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M2KinematicsProjectiles
OCR A2 Maths 2017MechanicsMotion in Two DimensionsProjectiles
OCR MEI A2 Maths 2017MechanicsProjectilesProjectiles
OCR-MEI A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M1KinematicsProjectiles
Pre-U A-Level (UK)MechKinematicsProjectiles
Universal (all site questions)KKinematicsProjectiles
WJEC A-Level (Wales)M2KinematicsProjectiles