What is projectile. what is projectile motion

The projectile is any object thrown into space upon which the only acting force is gravity. In other words, the primary force acting on a projectile is gravity. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the other forces do not act on it, just that their effect is minimal compared to gravity. The path followed by a projectile is known as a trajectory. A baseball batted or thrown and the instant the bullet exits the barrel of a gun are all examples of the projectile.

When a particle is thrown obliquely near the earth’s surface, it moves along a curved path under constant acceleration that is directed towards the center of the earth (we assume that the particle remains close to the surface of the earth). The path of such a particle is called a projectile and the motion is called projectile motion. Air resistance to the motion of the body is to be assumed absent in projectile motion.

In a Projectile Motion, there are two simultaneous independent rectilinear motions:

Along the x-axis: uniform velocity, responsible for the horizontal (forward) motion of the particle.

Along y-axis: uniform acceleration, responsible for the vertical (downwards) motion of the particle.

Accelerations in the horizontal projectile motion and vertical projectile motion of a particle: When a particle is projected in the air with some speed, the only force acting on it during its time in the air is the acceleration due to gravity (g). This acceleration acts vertically downward. There is no acceleration in the horizontal direction, which means that the velocity of the particle in the horizontal direction remains constant.

not too sure thinking it will always be directed towards the centre of the earth. could be wrong not sure