What is projectile motion?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks: What is projectile motion? 
Option a: 'A combination of two motions, one at a vertical direction, the other at a horizontal direction.' This description is imprecise because projectile motion is not about two independent motions in fixed vertical and horizontal directions; rather, it results from the combination of horizontal motion with uniform velocity and vertical motion under constant acceleration due to gravity. The key is that vertical motion accelerates while horizontal motion remains constant in the absence of air resistance, not that the vertical is a separate constant-direction motion.
Option b: 'A combination of two motions, one at x direction, the other at y direction.' While this captures two perpendicular components, it misses the physics detail that the horizontal component has constant velocity (no horizontal acceleration in ideal projectile motion) and the vertical component experiences constant acceleration due to gravity. It’s close but not precise about the nature of the horizontal motion being constant velocity and the vertical being accelerated.
Option c: 'A combination of two motions, one at a constant velocity, the other at a constant acceleration.' This correctly describes the standard model of projectile motion: the horizontal motion is at constant velocity (no horizontal acceleration in ideal conditions), and the vertical motion is a separate one with constant acceleration due to gravity. The resulting trajectory is the parabola formed by these perpendicular components.
Option d: 'A combination of two motions, one at a constant speed, the other at a constant displacement.' This is incorrect because projectile motion does not involve a constant displacement motion as one component, nor is the emphasis on constant speed a defining feature; speed changes due to the vertical acceleration, and the horizontal component is a velocity, not a separate constant-speed motion. The description mixes concepts in a way that does not reflect the physics of projectile motion.
Overall, option c accurately captures the fundamental decomposition of projectile motion into perpendicular components—one with constant velocity (horizontal) and one with constant acceleration (vertical)—which together produce the characteristic curved trajectory.

UCIC 202503 PHYS101 Quiz 1

What is projectile motion?

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