How to Use the Projectile Motion Simulator
 

Launch Parameters

• Set the launch Height (h₀), Angle (θ), Velocity (v₀), and Gravity (g) with the sliders or by typing a value directly into each box.

• Press Launch to fire the projectile. Use Default settings to return the parameters to their starting values, or Reset everything to clear the canvas and start over.
  Note for teachers: Change gravity to compare the same launch on the Moon or Mars. It is a quick way to show that range and flight time depend on g while the launch itself stays the same.
   

Theme

• Choose Scientific for a clean graph-paper view or Landscape for a more realistic scene. Dark and Light switch the color scheme of the whole simulator.

• Show grid adds a coordinate grid so you can read positions off the canvas.

• Auto fit keeps the whole trajectory on screen. Use Zoom when you want a closer look at part of the path.

• Use Speed to slow the flight down to ¾×, ½×, or ¼× so the motion is easier to follow.
   

Display Options

• Trajectory preview draws a dotted line showing where the projectile will go before you launch.

• Show velocity components draws the horizontal (vₓ) and vertical (vᵧ) velocity arrows as the projectile flies. Watch how one arrow never changes while the other shrinks, flips, and grows.

• Show values labels those arrows with their numbers.
  Mastery tip: Before you launch, predict what each velocity arrow will look like at the top of the path. Then launch and check. The vertical arrow disappears at the peak, but the horizontal arrow does not.
   

Flight Summary

• After each launch, the Flight Summary reports the maximum height (y_max), Range (Δx), and Time of flight.

• Use it to check your own calculations. Work the problem on paper first, then compare.
   

Kinematic Graphs

• Three graph panels sit below the canvas. Use the dropdown on each one to choose x vs t, y vs t, vₓ vs t, vᵧ vs t, or |v| vs t.

• Put vₓ vs t next to vᵧ vs t to see the independence of horizontal and vertical motion side by side.
  Note for teachers: The vᵧ vs t graph is a great check on whether students understand that the slope of a velocity graph is acceleration. Ask them what the slope should be before they launch, and why it is the same for every launch angle.
   

Challenge Mode

• Turn on Challenge Mode, then drag the bullseye anywhere on the canvas to set a target. The Target x and Target y readouts show exactly where you placed it.

• Choose a launch angle and speed that you think will hit the target, then press Launch.

• The Flight Summary is hidden during a challenge, so you have to calculate the answer instead of reading it.
  Mastery tip: Start with targets at the same height as the launch point, then move to targets above or below it once you are comfortable. Raised and lowered targets require solving for time with the full vertical equation.
  Note for teachers: Give students a fixed launch speed and have them find the angle needed to hit a given target. For many targets there are two angles that work, which makes for a good class discussion.