Projectile Motion: Comparing Actual vs Theoretical

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Air resistance significantly impacts the actual projectile motion of the soccer ball, reducing both horizontal and vertical distances traveled. The graph shows the actual motion (yellow) is higher than the theoretical motion (blue), suggesting that factors like ball spin may contribute to an upward lift. This lift effect can lead to discrepancies between actual and theoretical trajectories. Overall, while air resistance generally decreases distance, other forces like spin can complicate the expected outcomes. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for accurate projectile motion analysis.
Demson
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the yellow is an actual projectile motion from a soccer ball thrown in the air and the blue is a theoretical projectile motion with the same initial velocity and angle of projection calculated from the actual.

How is air resistance affecting the actual projectile (yellow) according to the graph below?

graph.jpg


cheers
Demson
 
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Air resistance should decrease both the horizontal and vertical distances travelled, so in terms of the horizontal, your graph makes sense. However, the yellow line appears to be higher than the blue which could be caused by spin of the ball, which causes an upwards lift.
 
dave_baksh said:
Air resistance should decrease both the horizontal and vertical distances travelled, so in terms of the horizontal, your graph makes sense. However, the yellow line appears to be higher than the blue which could be caused by spin of the ball, which causes an upwards lift.

coolio thanks
 
The book claims the answer is that all the magnitudes are the same because "the gravitational force on the penguin is the same". I'm having trouble understanding this. I thought the buoyant force was equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Weight depends on mass which depends on density. Therefore, due to the differing densities the buoyant force will be different in each case? Is this incorrect?

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