Projectiles in Resisted Motion

Projectiles in resisted motion completes the Mechanics topic in NSW Year 12 Mathematics Extension 2 (NESA outcome ME2-12-05). This subtopic compares the parabolic path of a projectile with no air resistance against the asymmetric path it follows when a resistance proportional to its speed acts — a path that drops more steeply and nears a vertical asymptote.

Students and teachers will cover writing the horizontal and vertical equations of motion of a body launched at angle \(\theta\), integrating them to find velocity and position in terms of time, and using these to find the greatest height, the range or the limiting vertical speed in the HSC Extension 2 course.