Theory

Projectile is defined as, any body thrown with some initial velocity, which is then allowed to
move under the action of gravity alone, without being propelled by any engine or fuel. The
path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory. A projectile moves at a constant speed in
the horizontal direction while experiencing a constant acceleration of 9.8 m/s2 downwards in
the vertical direction. To be consistent, we define the up or upwards direction to be the
positive direction. Therefore the acceleration of gravity is, -9.8 m/s2.

1
2 mv

mgh=

( 3.1 )

m= mass of the body

g = acceleration due to gravity
h = height of the body
v = velocity of the body

The speed in the horizontal direction is 'vx' and this speed doesn't change. The equation
which predicts the position at any time in the horizontal direction is simply,

R = v t

( 3.2 )

v = horizontal component of the velocity

By combining equations 3.1 & 3.2 we obtain

h=

R2
2 g t2

Where the time taken for the body from the end of the curved track to reach the ground.