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In physics, the motion of a projectile can be divided into two components: horizontal and vertical. In most cases, the vertical component is the movement caused by the action of gravity on the object. For each object, gravity causes a constant acceleration toward Earth at a rate of 32.2 ft/s 2 , or 9.8 m/s 2 . Horizontal motion is the motion of a projectile in a horizontal plane based on the force acting on it. At short distances, the vertical and horizontal movements of the projectile are perpendicular and independent of each other.
Newton’s second law of physics states that an object will continue to move at the same speed as long as no external force acts on it. This means that the horizontal motion of an object will remain constant as long as it is not affected by an additional push or pull. If an external force is perpendicular to the motion of the object, as is the case with gravity, a change in direction will occur, but the actual speed will remain constant. This only applies to short distances because the Earth is considered flat, so the effect of gravity remains constant.
To be considered horizontal motion, a projectile must be fired in a straight line, not at any angle. The speed of the projectile can be changed, but what remains the same is that it is launched perpendicular to the Earth’s surface. The projectile is subject to a constant vertical force of gravity, regardless of the horizontal force used to fire the projectile, which means that the projectile will always land in the same amount of time. By changing the initial velocity of the projectile, or the force used to fire it, the projectile will travel longer or shorter distances horizontally in the same amount of time.
As the distance traveled by an object increases, the curvature of the Earth begins to affect its horizontal motion. The reason behind this change is that the angle of the object’s horizontal motion changes compared to the Earth’s surface. This means that gravity is no longer perpendicular to the object’s motion, so it will affect the object’s motion. When working at greater distances and/or with projectiles fired at an angle, such as a missile, the horizontal and vertical components must be determined in order to solve for the distance the projectile can travel.