Question

Solving for minimum initial velocity: "At about t = 0.53s we see a trailer come shooting out of the tornado. The trailer seems to travel about 4 times its length. I'm going to say about 200 ft. Even though there is a lot of wind the center of mass of the trailer does appear to follow a parabola. So, assuming projectile motion, what is the minimum initial velocity of the trailer if its range is 200 ft?"

Answer 1

The Range of a projectile is

R- li sin(26)

where $v_o$ is the initial velocity and theta is the angle of launch

Therefore

Rg V) g csc 26 sin 2θ

For the velocity to be minimum the condition is

d(v2) de

Therefore

2g R cot (20) csc(20) = 0

The above expression is zero when

θ = 45°

The velocity for this angle of launch is

$v_o=\sqrt{R\,g}$

The range is R = 200 feet = 60.96 m

Therefore the minimum initial velocity is

Vo-V/60.96 × 9.8-24.44 m/s