Projectile Motion problem involving air resistance

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on solving a projectile motion problem involving air resistance, specifically calculating the total x-distance a projectile travels before landing. The parameters provided include a mass of 0.7 kg, a drag coefficient of 0.01 kg/m, and an initial launch angle of 30 degrees. The air resistance force is defined as Fair = kv2, and the initial velocity is stated to be 9 m/s. Participants emphasize the necessity of specifying the initial speed and suggest using numerical methods to solve the differential equations governing the motion.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of projectile motion dynamics
  • Familiarity with differential equations
  • Knowledge of numerical approximation methods
  • Concept of air resistance and its mathematical representation
NEXT STEPS
  • Learn numerical methods for solving differential equations
  • Explore perturbation theory for approximating solutions
  • Study the effects of air resistance on projectile motion
  • Investigate the use of simulation tools for projectile motion analysis
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Students and educators in physics, particularly those dealing with mechanics and dynamics, as well as engineers and researchers interested in projectile motion and air resistance effects.

Adrsya Rupam
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Homework Statement


Ok, so I am attempting to solve a projectile motion problem involving air resistance that requires me to find the total x-distance the projectile traverses before landing again.

Given:
<br /> \\<br /> m=0.7\text{kg}<br /> \\<br /> k=0.01 \frac{\text{kg}}{\text{m}}<br /> \\<br /> \theta=30 \degree<br />

Homework Equations


F_{air}=kv^2

The Attempt at a Solution


I divided the dynamics of the problem into x-component and y-component equations:
From F_{x}=-kv_x^2, I got:
x\left(t\right)=\frac{m}{k}\ln \left(kv_it-m\sec \theta \right)

I divided the y-component of the motion into two parts--going up and going down:
I used F_{y1}=-mg-kv_y^2 for the going up part, and I used F_{y2}=-mg+kv_y^2
solving the differential equation for the going up part, I got:
v_y\left(t\right)=\sqrt{\frac{mg}{k}}\tan \left(\arctan \left(v_{yi}\sqrt{\frac{k}{mg}}\right)-t\sqrt{\frac{g}{m}}\right) -- which is where I am stuck on... because when I plugged in my given values, the graph doesn't look right as its t-intercept is greater than one which is found from solving this kinematically without air resistance.
solving the differential equation for v_y(t) of the going down part and integrating it, I got:
y\left(t\right)=-\frac{m}{k}\ln \left(\cosh \left(t\sqrt{\frac{gk}{m}}\right)\right)+y_i

Can someone help me solve this problem?
 
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Adrsya Rupam said:

Homework Statement


Ok, so I am attempting to solve a projectile motion problem involving air resistance that requires me to find the total x-distance the projectile traverses before landing again.

Given:
<br /> \\<br /> m=0.7\text{kg}<br /> \\<br /> k=0.01 \frac{\text{kg}}{\text{m}}<br /> \\<br /> \theta=30 \degree<br />

Homework Equations


F_{air}=kv^2

The Attempt at a Solution


I divided the dynamics of the problem into x-component and y-component equations:
From F_{x}=-kv_x^2, I got:
x\left(t\right)=\frac{m}{k}\ln \left(kv_it-m\sec \theta \right)

I divided the y-component of the motion into two parts--going up and going down:
I used F_{y1}=-mg-kv_y^2 for the going up part, and I used F_{y2}=-mg+kv_y^2solving the differential equation for the going up part, I got:
v_y\left(t\right)=\sqrt{\frac{mg}{k}}\tan \left(\arctan \left(v_{yi}\sqrt{\frac{k}{mg}}\right)-t\sqrt{\frac{g}{m}}\right) -- which is where I am stuck on... because when I plugged in my given values, the graph doesn't look right as its t-intercept is greater than one which is found from solving this kinematically without air resistance.
solving the differential equation for v_y(t) of the going down part and integrating it, I got:
y\left(t\right)=-\frac{m}{k}\ln \left(\cosh \left(t\sqrt{\frac{gk}{m}}\right)\right)+y_i

Can someone help me solve this problem?
No, this is not correct. The force of air resistance is opposite to the velocity vector and its magnitude is proportional to v2. v2 is a scalar, it does not have components.
 
Adrsya Rupam said:

Homework Statement


Ok, so I am attempting to solve a projectile motion problem involving air resistance that requires me to find the total x-distance the projectile traverses before landing again.

Given:
<br /> \\<br /> m=0.7\text{kg}<br /> \\<br /> k=0.01 \frac{\text{kg}}{\text{m}}<br /> \\<br /> \theta=30 \degree<br />

You have not given an initial speed, so your problem is not completely specified.

For any given initial speed you can set up and solve the DEs numerically, and I think that is about the best you can do (in view of the criticism of "ehild" in #2).

Perhaps, though, you can get usable approximations by attempting something like a perturbation theory approach in which you essentially expand in powers of the small parameter ##k##.
 
ehild said:
No, this is not correct. The force of air resistance is opposite to the velocity vector and its magnitude is proportional to v2. v2 is a scalar, it does not have components.
Ray Vickson said:
You have not given an initial speed, so your problem is not completely specified.

For any given initial speed you can set up and solve the DEs numerically, and I think that is about the best you can do (in view of the criticism of "ehild" in #2).

Perhaps, though, you can get usable approximations by attempting something like a perturbation theory approach in which you essentially expand in powers of the small parameter ##k##.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that-- the initial velocity is 9 m/s
 
ehild said:
No, this is not correct. The force of air resistance is opposite to the velocity vector and its magnitude is proportional to v2. v2 is a scalar, it does not have components.
What do you mean? Can't any force in vectorspace be divided into
[PLAIN]https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/18d95a7845e4e16ffb7e18ab37a208d0ab18e0e0, https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/3dc8de3d8ea01304329ef9518fad7a6d196c4c01 components?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Adrsya Rupam said:
What do you mean? Can't any force in vectorspace be divided into
[PLAIN]https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/18d95a7845e4e16ffb7e18ab37a208d0ab18e0e0, https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/3dc8de3d8ea01304329ef9518fad7a6d196c4c01 components?

The friction force acts along the negative of the tangent to the trajectory. See, eg.,
http://wps.aw.com/wps/media/objects/877/898586/topics/topic01.pdf
or
http://young.physics.ucsc.edu/115/range.pdf

The case of ##\vec{f}_{\text{friction}} = - k \vec{v}## is tractable, but not your case of ##\vec{f}_{\text{friction}} = - k |v|^2\, \vec{v}/|v| = -k |v| \vec{v}##.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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Adrsya Rupam said:
Ahh, I get it... would I need to use numerical approximation methods?

Yes. That is what I said in #3.
 

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