Paper 1 Projectile Motion Drills

Q1

In the ideal projectile model, which quantity is constant after launch?

A. vertical velocity
B. horizontal velocity
C. speed
D. direction of velocity

Q2

A projectile is launched at speed $u$ at angle $\theta$ above the horizontal. Its initial vertical velocity is

A. $u\cos \theta$
B. $u\sin \theta$
C. $u\tan \theta$
D. $u/\sin \theta$

Q3

At the highest point of an ideal projectile’s path,

A. both velocity and acceleration are zero.
B. vertical velocity is zero and acceleration is downward.
C. horizontal velocity is zero and acceleration is downward.
D. speed is zero and acceleration is downward.

Q4

Why can horizontal and vertical projectile equations be solved separately?

A. The projectile has two different times of flight.
B. Gravity has no horizontal component in the ideal model.
C. Horizontal displacement is always equal to vertical displacement.
D. The vertical acceleration is zero.

Q5

A ball rolls horizontally off a table with speed $3.0\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. It lands after $0.40\mathrm{s}$. What horizontal distance does it travel?

A. $0.75\mathrm{m}$
B. $1.2\mathrm{m}$
C. $3.4\mathrm{m}$
D. $7.5\mathrm{m}$

Q6

A projectile is launched and lands at the same height. Which expression gives its time of flight?

A. $u\sin \theta /g$
B. $2u\sin \theta /g$
C. $u\cos \theta /g$
D. $2u\cos \theta /g$

Q7

For a same-level projectile with fixed launch speed and negligible air resistance, the maximum range occurs at

A. $30^{\circ }$
B. $45^{\circ }$
C. $60^{\circ }$
D. $90^{\circ }$

Q8

A projectile is launched horizontally. Which graph best describes its horizontal displacement $x$ against time $t$?

A. straight line through the origin
B. horizontal line
C. parabola opening upward
D. parabola opening downward

Q9

For a projectile launched upward, the vertical displacement $y$ against time $t$ is

A. linear.
B. quadratic.
C. constant.
D. exponential.

Q10

A projectile has horizontal velocity $6.0\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ and vertical velocity $8.0\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ at one instant. Its speed is

A. $2.0\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$
B. $7.0\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$
C. $10.0\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$
D. $14.0\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$

Q11

Which statement about projectile acceleration is correct?

A. It is always tangent to the trajectory.
B. It is vertically downward and approximately constant.
C. It becomes zero at the highest point.
D. It points in the direction of motion.

Q12

An object is dropped from a moving train. Air resistance is negligible. In the train’s frame, the object appears to

A. fall vertically downward.
B. move backward.
C. move forward.
D. remain at rest.

Q13

A projectile is launched at $20\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ at $30^{\circ }$ above the horizontal. Its initial horizontal velocity is

A. $10\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$
B. $17\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$
C. $20\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$
D. $40\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$

Q14

The horizontal range formula $R=u^2\sin 2\theta /g$ applies directly only when

A. the projectile starts from rest.
B. launch and landing heights are the same.
C. air resistance is large.
D. the launch angle is $45^{\circ }$.

Q15

Two projectiles are launched horizontally from the same height with different horizontal speeds. Neglecting air resistance, they have the same

A. horizontal range.
B. time of flight.
C. impact speed.
D. horizontal displacement after landing.

Q16

In projectile calculations, the common variable linking horizontal and vertical components is

A. acceleration.
B. displacement.
C. time.
D. speed.

Q17

A projectile lands below its launch point. If upward is positive, the vertical displacement at landing is

A. positive.
B. negative.
C. zero.
D. equal to horizontal range.

Q18

Which vector expression represents projectile velocity in component form?

A. $\vec{v}=x\hat{\mathbf{i}}+y\hat{\mathbf{j}}$
B. $\vec{v}=v_x\hat{\mathbf{i}}+v_y\hat{\mathbf{j}}$
C. $\vec{v}=a_x\hat{\mathbf{i}}+a_y\hat{\mathbf{j}}$
D. $\vec{v}=u_{x}t+u_{y}t$

Q19

A ball is launched at angle $\theta$ and later returns to the same height. Neglecting air resistance, its vertical velocity just before landing is

A. zero.
B. equal to its initial vertical velocity.
C. equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to its initial vertical velocity.
D. equal to its horizontal velocity.

Q20

Which assumption is not part of the usual ideal projectile model?

A. air resistance is negligible
B. gravitational acceleration is uniform
C. the projectile can be treated as a particle
D. the horizontal acceleration is equal to $g$