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Horizontal throw

If a body is thrown horizontally, the vertical initial velocity is zero. The time of fall is set only by the height, just as for a body dropped straight down from the same place. The horizontal velocity is constant and carries the body while it falls. The higher the starting point and the larger the horizontal speed, the farther out it lands. The vertical speed at landing is the same as if the body had been dropped.

Try it yourself

Projectile motion

t = \sqrt{2h/g}

time of fall from height h

x = v_0 t

horizontal distance

Symbols

$h$	starting height	m
$v_0$	horizontal initial speed	m/s
$x$	distance	m

Example

A stone is thrown horizontally at 8 m/s from a height of 5 m.

$t = \sqrt{2 \cdot 5 / 9.81} \approx 1.010$ s and $x = 8t \approx 8.077$ m.

The time of fall is the same whether you throw hard or drop the stone. Only the distance changes.

Practise projectiles and motion in two dimensions for free →

← Range on level ground · Centripetal force →

Part of Physics 2: Projectiles and motion in two dimensions.