Project: Cliff Shot

Lesson 10 of 10 · 8 min · Free, no account needed

What you will learn

To plan a sideways shot: fall time from the height first, then speed = distance ÷ time.
A higher launch means a longer fall, so the same speed carries further.
Launched from the ground at one speed, 45° goes furthest; 30° and 60° land together (no air).

Basketball, fountains, angry birds: everything flies the same way. Where does this ball land?
It leaves the 20 m cliff at 5 m/s, sideways. Drag the basket to your guess.
Now aim: set the cannon's speed to land in the basket 10 m out.
Check fires it.
Why about 2 s? Work out the fall time from 20 m.
d = ½ g t², so t = √(2d ÷ g), with g = 9.8 m/s². Two decimal places.
Build the plan for any cliff shot. Put the cards in order.
Each card uses the one before it.
Game: three baskets, one shot each. No test shots.
Use your plan: same cliff, same fall time, three distances.
Before the next shot: draw the path a 5 m/s ball takes from the 20 m cliff.
From the cliff edge down to the ground. Then the real path appears.
A friend planned a shot to the 10 m basket, and it misses. Find the broken card.
Fire their plan, tap the card with the mistake, then Check.
Challenge: launch from the ground at 15 m/s. Which angle goes furthest?
Fire at 30°, 45° and 60°.
Code: a program tries speeds one by one until the shot reaches the basket.
Press Run. Each try draws a faint arc; the speed it prints is fired.
New cliff: 45 m high, ball fired sideways at 6 m/s. Put the basket where it lands.
Fall time first.
You move the cannon higher up the cliff and fire at the same speed. What happens?
Your shots. Tap the one you are proudest of.
It becomes your shot card.

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