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One teacher told me it's a parabola and another told me it's an ellipse but neither of them told me the derivation as it's too complex. Help me understand this. Thanks

silverrahul
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The Cuber
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1 Answers1

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The fact that a projectile lacks sufficient energy to orbit the earth, and will crash back into the earth, does not change the fact that the trajectory is actually an ellipse (assuming ideal conditions, such as no air resistance etc.). It is just an ellipse that intersects with the earth's surface.

However, when the trajectory is small relative to the size of the earth, that section of the ellipse which is the trajectory is almost identical to a parabola.

If the earth were flat, then the trajectory would actually be a parabola. (Again, assuming ideal conditions).

Math Keeps Me Busy
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