Adventure 12 – Projectile Motion: The Vertical Secret
In this adventure you’ll connect motion graphs to a key calculus idea: where a maximum happens, and what it means. You will study two motions: A ball thrown straight up and a cannon ball fired from a cannon. Although they look different, their vertical motion is the same. You will discover the “vertical secret” of projectile motion: a cannonball and a ball thrown straight up can have the same vertical motion. The key moment is the top of the path, where velocity becomes zero but gravity is still pulling down.
🎥 Watch First
Watch:
Introduction to Projectile Motion (Sabins)
Start with a short projectile-motion video to see the big idea: horizontal motion and vertical motion can be studied separately. The path may curve across the sky, but gravity controls the up-and-down story.
📜 Read the Story or Listen to it Next
The Cannonball and the Moment That Changed Motion
Read how cannonballs, Galileo, and Newton helped reveal one of the central ideas of calculus: the moment when change pauses. The story connects maximum height, zero velocity, and the birth of critical points.
👨🔬 What you will do
Use DiVA charts to compare a ball thrown straight up with a cannonball fired forward. Students will find maximum height, zero vertical velocity, constant acceleration, total flight time, and range.
- Read the motion graphs (distance, velocity, acceleration).
- Find the moment of maximum height and explain what is happening to velocity and acceleration.
- Compare a straight-up throw to a cannon shot: different paths, same vertical story.
🧭 Optional: Go deeper (Kinematics series)
If you want to expand your knowledge, Professor Dave has a short kinematics series (including projectile motion):
Kinematics playlist (Professor Dave Explains)
These kinematics videos extend the same ideas to broader motion problems. They show how position, velocity, acceleration, and projectile paths fit together.