Science Project on “Understanding Trajectories”, Project Experiment Topics on Flight, Motion & Friction for Class 8, 9, 10 and 12 Students.

Understanding Trajectories

Materials Required:

1. Some modelling clay
2. A paper towel roll tube
3. Marble
4. Several sheets of typing paper
5. Some adhesive tape
6. A pencil
7. A cardboard
8. An uncarpeted floor under the table

The path that an object takes as it travels through air is known as its Trajectory. Due to the earth’s gravity, objects that are thrown will never go straight, but will rather fall to the ground.

If you throw it with greater force, it will travel a greater distance, once it has fallen down.

Place some cardboard on a table, so as to prevent any damage to it. Apply some modelling clay on the cardboard and attach the paper towel roll tube, with the lower end of the tube, just slightly off the table.

Make sure to see that the angle of the tube’s descent is not very great.

Tape several sheets of typing paper and stick them together, making them around 90 cm long. Put the sheets on the floor, next to the marble slide.

You should also tape the papers to the floor, so that they do not move. Now place a marble at the higher end of the slide and let it go. Make sure that you do not push it. As the marble falls down on the sheets, mark out the point at which the marble falls.

Now add some more modelling clay on the table and once again roll the marble though the tube. Determine where the marble will go and fall. Remember that the force of gravity will still be acting on the marble.

Keep increasing and decreasing the modelling clay at the table and keep guessing where the marble will go and fall.

Pairs of Forces

Let us understand action and reaction in motion. For us to step forward, our feet have to push backwards on the ground. As we push against the ground, the ground exerts an equal force on our feet. If the surface of the ground is very smooth or slippery, your feet may slip backwards, you may lose your balance and fall.

However in normal circumstances, your feet grip the ground firmly. In the above example action is the force with which we move our feet. The reaction to this action takes place when the ground pushes back with an equal and opposite force, which moves us forward. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. See the picture below. The action is firing the cannon ball forward. To this action, the reaction is the cannon rolling back.