Projectile Motion
What is it?
How does it apply to NASCAR?
Example
Tips for the Team
- Projectile motion is how a projectile goes through the air.
How does it apply to NASCAR?
- Casey Mears’ team is trying to increase their time on pit road by throwing the tires to the pit members. However, if they throw it far and it goes on the track, they will be penalized.
- The distance the object will go depends on the amount of horizontal or vertical velocity.
- If you put a lot of velocity behind it, it will go far, if you put a little velocity, it will not go very far.
Example
- One of the pit crew members throws the tire in the air to the tire changer, but it is soft and hits the car instead. The next time he throws it too far and it rolled on the track.
- The pit crew member is not putting the correct amount of velocity behind the tire.
Tips for the Team
- Practice throwing the tire so that you can make sure that it will go the correct distance.
- Figure out how much velocity you will need to put to be accurate.