Projectile Motion
What follows is a general solution for the two dimensional motion of an object thrown in a gravitational field. This is usually termed a projectile motion problem. The thrown object is called the projectile. Its path is called the trajectory. We will answer all the usual questions that arise in a first year physics class regarding this motion. We will not consider air resistance. Without air resistance, the projectile will follow a parabolic trajectory. We will be throwing the projectile on level ground on planet Earth. It will leave the point of release, arc through the air along a path shaped like a parabola, and then hit ground a certain distance from where it was thrown.