Find range, max height, time of flight and final speed for any launch.
Projectile motion describes the curved path of an object thrown or launched near the Earth's surface, subject only to gravity. The motion splits neatly into two independent parts: constant-velocity horizontal motion and constant-acceleration vertical motion. Because gravity acts only downward, the horizontal speed never changes while the vertical speed decreases on the way up and increases on the way down.
The combination of these two motions traces a parabola. Key quantities are the range (horizontal distance covered), the maximum height, the total time of flight, and the speed when the projectile lands.
Enter the launch speed, the angle above the horizontal, and the launch height. Choose the gravitational field for your planet. The results update instantly, assuming no air resistance. For a launch from ground level, set the launch height to zero.
On level ground, 45° maximizes range because it balances horizontal velocity and time in the air. If the launch height is above the landing point, the optimal angle is slightly below 45°.
No. Ignoring air resistance, mass cancels out of the equations of motion, so a heavy and a light projectile launched identically follow the same path.
Horizontal distance grows linearly with time while vertical position depends on time squared. Eliminating time between the two gives a quadratic relation, which is a parabola.