What is the value of this distance up the slope?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a projectile launched at an angle of 40 degrees with an initial velocity of 100 m/s, which strikes a hill sloping upward at an angle of 20 degrees. Participants are tasked with determining the distance the projectile travels up the slope upon impact.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the trajectory of the projectile and its intersection with the slope of the hill, considering the use of equations for parabolic motion and the slope of the hill. There are attempts to derive equations for both the projectile's path and the hill's slope to find the point of collision.

Discussion Status

Some participants have shared their calculations and results, while others express confusion about specific concepts, such as the equations of motion and the definition of slope. There is an ongoing exploration of different methods to solve for the distance up the slope, with no explicit consensus reached yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention varying levels of familiarity with kinematic equations and the definitions of variables used in their calculations. There is also a reference to the teacher's curriculum, indicating that some foundational concepts may not have been covered yet.

cdhotfire
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I got this problem for physics and i can't seem to get it, it goes like:

A projectile is launched at an angel of 40 degrees with an initial velocity of 100 m/s. One hundred meters away is the beginning of a hill that slopes upward at an angle of 20 degrees. The projectile strikes the hill a distance of L up the slope. What is the value of this distance up the slope?

Okay so far I've gotten:
H | a=0 | Vi=76.6 | x=100 | t= 1.31 s
V | a=-9.81 | Vi=64.28 | x=75.79 |

thats all I've gotten, but i can't figure out how to c where it lands. Maybe someone can give me a hint or sometin I am really stuck.

Thanks You.
 
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The tangent of 20 degrees is the slope of the straight line, so y = tan(20)x +b, also when Y of the Parabole Trajectory is equal to the Y of the straight line, they collide. In my opinion you could find the trajectory equation for your parabole and solve for x to find the x value it will have when Y of the parabole is equal to Y of the straight line, then you can find the exact coordinates (X,Y) for the collision, then you probably can apply the distance formula of two points for (100,0) and (X,Y).
 
Last edited:
hmm, good idea ill try that out.
thxs.
 
one more thing, how do you know that the slope of the line is tan 20*?
 
definition of slope, m = y/x, tangent of the angle is equal to y/x.
 
wow ur right, hehe, thxs.
 
Hmm, I am sorry to bother, but i don't know how to find equation for parabola. :frown:
 
Well are you familiar with parametric equations?
 
No I am not :frown:
 
  • #10
Well, it doesn't matter, it was just easier for me to point you the right direction but it's ok.

Let's see we know this equation from kinematics with constant acceleration:
(Looks like LateX isn't working, oh well, i'll try to write it as clear as possible.)

X = Xo + volt + (1/2)at^2

Let's start analyzing horizontal trajectory for this case.

x = VoCos(angle)t

Now let's do the same for vertical trajectory for this case.

Y = VoSin(angle)t - (1/2)gt^2

If we want to get our Y = f(x), then we need to eliminate, get rid of t in both of our equations.

so t = x/(VoCos(angle))

substuting it in our second equation we will have

Y = VoSin(angle)*x/(VoCos(angle)) - (1/2)g*(x/(VoCos(angle)))^2

Y = tan(angle)x - (g*x^2)/(2*Vo^2*Cos^2(angle))

Now we have our Y= f(x), for any value of x we can get a value of y, you can notice it's a parabole because of the x^2.
 
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  • #11
says latex is invalid.
 
  • #12
Yes, give me a minute I'm editing my message with the info you need.
 
  • #13
thxs :smile:
 
  • #14
See if you can understand what i said.
 
  • #15
what does the a and g represent. These formulas don't seem familiar.
 
  • #16
cdhotfire said:
what does the a and g represent. These formulas don't seem familiar.

a represents acceleration and g is for gravity.

It's a kinematic equation...

X = Xo + volt + (1/2)at^2
X - Xo = volt + (1/2)at^2

sometimes teachers put it as
d= X - Xo
d = volt + (1/2)at^2
 
  • #17
oops i meant to say o not a .
 
  • #18
It's a notation used that means initial, so Vo will be initial speed.
 
  • #19
Plus i don't think the teacher has teached us kinematics, all we've learned so far are these formulas:
x=Vi t + 1/2 a ^2
a=(Vf - Vi)/ t
Vavg= (Vf + Vi)/2= x/t
Vf^2 - Vi^2= 2 a x
 
  • #20
wait wait its all starting to make sense now, i think I've got it now. Thank you very much for all the help, I appreciate it. Take it ez. :biggrin:
 
  • #21
Those are the kinematic equations a little simplified.
 
  • #22
cdhotfire said:
wait wait its all starting to make sense now, i think I've got it now. Thank you very much for all the help, I appreciate it. Take it ez. :biggrin:

No problem, Have fun solving it!
 
  • #23
hehe there will be tons of that. :smile:
 
  • #24
i got 104.37, does that sound right?
 
  • #25
i got my (X,Y) as (637.40, 195.60), so my distance will differ using the Plane Distance Formula, SQRT((x-xo)^2 + (y-yo)^2). I got 571.89 meters.
 
  • #26
how u get that point i got (4.36, 1.57) and i did everything u said. :frown:
 
  • #27
well first i calculated b, because we know nothing of b, remember the equation for a straight line is y = mx +b, so we know the slope is tan(20), and in our equation it should be y = tan(20)x + b, now we know a point our straight line goes through which is (100,0) so to find b we do, 0 = tan(20)*100 + b, so b = -tan(20)*100. Now we know all the values of our straight line equation, so we proceed to equal both the equations and solve for x.

tan(20)x -tan(20)*100 = tan(40)x - (9.8*x^2)/(2*100^2*Cos^2(40))

0 =tan(20)*100 + x(tan(40)-tan(20)) - (9.8*x^2)/(2*100^2*Cos^2(40))

0 = C + xB + Ax^2

C = tan(20)*100
B = (tan(40)-tan(20))
A = - (9.8*x^2)/(2*100^2*Cos^2(40))

I took the positive value of X of course.

I got X = 637.40, i plug it in both of the equations and got the same Y=195.60, then i used the formula above to calculate the distance.
 
  • #28
i c now i didnt get the b so then the whole thing went to chambles. :smile:
thxs
 

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