Projectile Motion Calculator

This projectile motion calculator works out the flight of an object launched into the air, returning the time it stays airborne, the maximum height it reaches and the horizontal distance it travels before landing. Projectile motion is a classic physics topic because it combines two simple motions at once: a steady horizontal motion and a vertical motion that slows, stops and reverses under gravity, and together they trace the graceful parabola you see in a thrown ball, a fired arrow or a jet of water. You enter the launch speed and the launch angle above the horizontal, and the strength of gravity, and the calculator assumes the object is launched and lands at the same height with no air resistance, the standard idealised model. From those it computes the time of flight as twice the upward velocity over gravity, the maximum height as the upward velocity squared over twice gravity, and the range as the speed squared times the sine of twice the angle, over gravity. A neat result falls out of the maths: for a fixed launch speed, the range is greatest at a 45 degree angle, and complementary angles such as 30 and 60 degrees give the same range. This is essential for mechanics study and useful for sports and engineering. Enter a speed and angle to see the trajectory figures straight away.

Assumes launch and landing at the same height, no air resistance. Estimate only.