Precalculus: Parametric Projectile Motion

Objectives

• Students will understand how changing the initial velocity and the initial angle change the path of a projectile.
• Students will be able to write the parametric equations for the path of a projectile.

Vocabulary

• parametric
• projectile
• velocity
• angle
• vector

About the Lesson

This lesson involves observing how changing the initial values affects the path of a projectile.
As a result, students will:

• Discover the parametric equations for the path of a projectile.
• Test an initial velocity and an initial angle and determine if they have chosen the right values to make a basket.
• Identify the conditions that must be met to make a basket.