You first need to draw a triangle by doing the vector addition we explain previously. Once you have the triangle drawn, label the take-off angle. Determine the opposite side, adjacent side, and hypotenuse. The adjacent and opposite, are the vertical and horizontal velocities. Use tangent to calculate the take-off angle from these velocities.
Try solving for take-off angle and take-off velocity in the example below.
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You may be wondering why we
went through all that math just to calculate vertical and horizontal
take-off velocity. Well, it turns out that since gravity is the only
force acting on the skater in the air, just by knowing the take-off
velocities, you can determine the path of the projectile, and the vertical
and horizontal displacement.
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© April, 1998, Montana State University-Bozeman |
