Education Technology


Vectors and Projectile Motion on the TI-89

Activity Overview

Students will study various properties of projectile motion by showing how the calculator manipulates three dimensional vectors, deriving the standard equations of motion for projectile motion, and applying these equations to 1st and 2nd derivatives.

Before the Activity

See the attached Activity PDF file(s) for detailed instructions for this activity.

During the Activity

Follow the procedures outlined in the Activity.
Students will:

  • Manipulate three dimensional vectors.
  • Derive the standard equations for projectile motion.
  • Apply these equations to first and second derivatives with the calculator.
  • Be able to show aspects of motion for displacement, velocity, and acceleration for specific times of flight on the graphing calculator.
  • After the Activity

  • Review student results
  • As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
  • Re-teach concepts as necessary