Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi, I would like to know at what angle I will be able to shoot an arrow with my plastic gun at the farthest distance.

Philip23 wrote:Hi, I would like to know at what angle I will be able to shoot an arrow with my plastic gun at the farthest distance.

Hello, Philip23!

This is an interesting problem.

The distance an arrow flies is based on the angle of the gun barrel, the velocity of the arrow as it leaves the gun, the height of the gun relative to the height of the place where the arrow lands, and gravitational acceleration.

Basically, when you shoot at an angle, there are two components to the velocity - one horizontal and one vertical. The vertical component determines flight time. The horizontal component determines distance traveled in that time. The proportion of the velocity that gets distributed to each component is controlled by the angle of your gun. Imagine if the gun were pointed straight up. All of the velocity would be vertical and none of it would be horizonatal. At 45 degrees, it velocity would be distributed equally between the horizontal and vertical components.

I did a Google search on the words "projectile distance" and found a few interesting links. I think these are the best ones for you to research:

http://id.mind.net/~zona/mstm/physics/m ... ution.html

http://carini.physics.indiana.edu/E105/ ... range.html

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/traj.html

Since the time in flight is based on gravitational acceleration, I think this site provides useful background information on the physics involved:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equations_ ... lling_body

Best wishes for your project!

If you play gunbound ....

its around 45 degrees