I promised an exciting episode that would take us into a whole new dimension.

Let’s start talking projectile motion → the movement of objects that break beyond just one dimension and instead travel both horizontally and vertically.

We are going to discuss objects that move down and sideways today. It is the easiest way to begin talking about projectiles.

Imagine a cannon on the top of a cliff, shooting a cannon ball out. The ball travels horizontally out of the cannon, but eventually starts to fall down. Why?

Gravity.

Projectile motion shows that even when an object moves horizontally through the air, it is still subject to gravity pulling it down.

Think of a paper airplane tossed out into the air. Or a pitcher throwing towards home plate.

While we talk today, it’s important to imagine objects that are moving in a straight line horizontally and then falling.

Don’t toss the paper airplane up and then watch it come down. Throw the paper airplane parallel to the ground and then see it glide down.

The cannon ball is shot out of a completely horizontal cannon, not up at an angle.