High School Physics Practice Test

Which term describes the path followed by a projectile near Earth's surface?

Free Fall Range Projectile Motion Contact Force

Correct Answer:

Projectile Motion

Explanation:

Projectile motion describes the motion of an object launched into the air when gravity pulls downward and air resistance is small. The horizontal speed stays roughly constant while the vertical speed accelerates downward by g, so the resulting path is a curved, parabolic trajectory near Earth. Free fall describes only vertical motion under gravity with no horizontal movement, so it doesn't capture the full path of a launched projectile. Range tells how far it travels horizontally, not the shape of the path, and a contact force is just a type of force, not a description of the trajectory.

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